The Champion and The Shepherd
by False Shepard
Summary: Heroes exist throughout the cosmos, but legends? They are but mere rarities. Powerful enough to alter history itself, actions ringing out for ages to come. However, rarely, have two legends ever crossed paths... until now. "Is it fate or chance? I can never decide." Sarcastic!Hawke/Miranda, Renegade!Shepard/Liara. Co-Authored with OffMyLeash.
1. Chapter 1

_Flawless_

That was the only way to describe the two heroines that danced across this battlefield. Slowly but surely they were bringing and end to a smaller conflict. One, once finished, would start dozens more across the land. Blades clashed, and magic flared in response as the Mage Templar War finally broke out. The climax of this uprising taking place in the Gallows of the City of Chains. There, three women brawled it out, the concept of the war might have been lost of them, might have not been.

A red haired woman, an Arcane Warrior, adorned in the darkest armour that seemed to absorb the sunlight, raised her magical crossbow. With a quick pull of the trigger she fired a volley of three arrows, nothing more than a distraction to the enraged Knight-Commander Meredith of the Kirkwall Templars.

The attack was blocked by a swipe of her massive blade, but it left her back exposed for the Arcane Warrior's combat partner. A black haired Fereldan charged towards the Knight-Commander blades singing she moved like a deadly predator. She was upon Meredith who was still focused on the other woman, she didn't react in time, it was too late.

The Rogue's jagged dagger found an opening in the heavy Templar Armour, sliding deeply within her body. A piercing cry echoed across the gallows, resonating out onto the overall battlefield. Mages and Templars all of them freezing their own quarrels to look.

The Champion of Kirkwall had ended the Knight-Commander's reign.

Slowly Meredith fell to her knees, the Rogue slowly removed her her bloodied blade, flicking the blood clean as the Arcane Warrior slowly walked across the battlefield, her boots clicking on the stone while her cape she wore over her right arm, black, emblazoned with the red and white stripe of an N-Seven Warrior fluttered softly along with her movements.

The Arcane Warrior looked down on the Knight-Commander before holding out her left hand as a fiery blade formed. She held it at her side for a moment before bringing it down, shattering the Knight-Commander's Red Lyrium Blade..

"It is done." she spoke.

"Let this victory serve as a message to all mages that the Chantry and Circles can be challenged!" The Champion cried out, pointed her blade at Meredith's slumped form. "They can be defied! And they can be crushed beneath your heels!"

There was a roar throughout the gallows. Cries of victory. Cries of agony. Slowly the Arcane Warrior looked to the Rogue.

"Shall we depart? Champion?"

The Champion nodded her head, sheathing her blade as her lover came to her side. "We shall," came the answer, before her lover took her and pulled the Champion into a passionate kiss.

The blue skinned lover of the Arcane Warrior approached, and bestowed upon the redhead the same forum of affection.

"Shepherd." the abomination spoke, surely how could one love such a beast? The Shepherd just smiled as she raised a hand swathed in fire, the echoing roar of the mighty beast _Normandy _answering the silent call as a massive black High Dragon appeared over the Gallows. This dragon was like no other. For it breathed flames of the brightest blue and wore white armour that could turn even the darkest night into day-

_"BULLSHIT!"_

The image was shattered when a short haired, angry woman, cut the storytelling dwarf off.

"Does that not match the story you've heard, Seeker?" Varric Tethras questioned from his seat, putting a hand out as he pointed at her before lowering it.

"I am not interested in the stories." she threw a massive book at him. "I want to hear the truth."

"What makes you think I know the truth?" Varric asked slowly, the Seeker of the Chantry paced slightly.

"Don't lie to me!" she snapped leaning in as Varric threw up his hands. "You knew her before she became the Champion! Before she met the Shepherd!"

"Even if I did, I don't know where they are now." he answered, it was a partial lie.

"Do you have any idea what's at stake here?" the Seeker growled, Varric chuckled softly.

"Let me guess; your precious Chantry's fallen to pieces and put the entire world on the brink of war? And you need the two heroes to put it back together again." Varric quipped naturally while the Seeker sighed, already annoyed.

"The Champion and the Shepherd where are the heart of this when it all began. If you can't point me to them, then tell me everything that you know."

"You aren't worried I'll just make it up as I go?" Varric asked, leaning forward in his seat to study her.

"Not at all." The Seeker snapped back as Varric leaned back in his seat.

"You'll need to hear the whole story." He stated with a smirk, bringing his hands up to his chin and leaning back in his seat.

_The Blight, had been unleashed on Ferelden. Darkspawn poured out of the wilds, clashing with the army at Ostagar. The battle was a disaster._

_King Calian died on the field with his men, betrayed by his most trusted general. Unopposed, the horde marched on the village of Lothering. The village burned, and many innocents were slaughtered._

_The Champion's family barely escaped in time..._

A family of four was running through the wilds. Three of which, were armed; they sprinted along the path, but the eldest among them couldn't keep up the pace.

The gray haired woman stopping, and falling to her knees, gaining the attention of her three younger companions.

The three rushed back to her aid, as a group of darkspawn quickly approached. The mage among them turning quickly, and releasing a fire to block the creature's path. One, caught in the initial blaze died instantly.

It's companion made it through, only to be run through on the dagger of a green eyed female. The final darkspawn sprinting through the flames, only to be struck down by the only male in the group; his massive sword slicing through the creature like butter.

There was a silence in the group as the mage turned to the elder woman, the others slowly gathering around.

"I think that's all of them." the only male declared, the mage bit her lower lip.

"For the moment." she added before looking over at her spell, before turning to look at their mother.

The eldest among them sighed, and shook her head. "Maker save us, we've lost it all," the golden eyed mother spoke. "Everything your father and I built..."

"Look on the bright side, at least you, me, Bethany, and Carver are all alive and together," the eldest Hawke sibling pointed out. "So I'd say that counts as not having lost everything," she added with a chuckle.

Leandra gave a nod from that information. "Yes, you're right," the golden eyed mother agreed, as she pulled herself together.

Bethany took a step back before turning to her brother. "We should have run sooner! Why did we wait so long?" she snapped, Carver growled as he looked at her.

"We've been running since Ostagar!" he snapped "Don't blame us!"

Hawke cast a glance over her shoulder. "Speaking of running...we might want to get a move on it, before the darkspawn decide to brave the flames," she remarked, noticing there were a few lined up on the other side of the barrier.

Swords drawn and baring their teeth at the family.

"Please, listen to you sister," Leandra instructed her children, while pointing to the rogue; successfully gaining the attention of her younger siblings.

"Then we should get moving." Carver nodded in the general direction they needed to go as Hawke took the lead, it was just a few minutes of running before Bethany noticed they had no direction, she slowed her pace down to a jog before stopping.

"Wait." she called out. "Where are we going?

"Away from the darkspawn." Carver pointed out like it was the most obvious thing. "Where else?"

"And then where?" Bethany threw out. "We can't just wander aimlessly."

Hawke approached the pair. "And why not? Doesn't seem like a bad idea to me," she voiced in her usual charming manner...despite the fact that they were running and facing darkspawn.

"Are you for real?" Carver growled

The rogue shrugged. "As long as we're all together that's what's important," she answered, earning a hiss from her brother, which she rightly returned.

Leandra growled at both of them, immediately stopping their confrontation before it began. The mother then took a few moments to search her mind for a solution. "We can go to Kirkwall," she informed her children.

The green eyed Hawke looked at her in surprise. "Kirkwall? Are you sure mother?" came the inquiry. It was the City of Chains...complete with it's own Circle.

"There are a lot of Templars is Kirkwall, Mother." Bethany pointed out, looking at the older woman.

Leandra turned to face her youngest. "I know that, but we still have family there-and an estate," she pointed out, hoping that would be enough of a consolation prize. Bethany sighed in defeat.

"Then we need to get to Gawren and take ship." she said, Carver frowned.

"If we survive that long." he snarled. "I'll just be happy to get out of here."

The group continued moving, before coming across another group of darkspawn, there they could see two others fighting the horde. A man in armour and woman in studded leather. Gracefully in unison they fought, until one of the hurlock got behind the man at struck upwards, catching him in his sword arm and drawing blood, forcing him to drop his shield and sword. The woman turned on the beast.

"You will not have him!" a ginger haired woman growled, as she pinned a darkspawn to the ground. She reached out and picked up a sword before bringing it down and severing the creature's head.

With that done, she rose, picked up the man's fallen shield and scrambled to his side. "They will not have you," she told him firmly, as they became surrounding by a small group of darkspawn. "Not while I breathe."

Hawke smirked. "I think someone needs our help," she commented, as she sliced through her down darkspawn, ending the tainted creature. "Bethany, stay back with mother, Carver and I shall handle this," running off into the fray before the sentence was fully out of her mouth.

"Wait, sister!" Bethany called out as the two warriors dove into the fray, quickly clearing out the field and aiding the two. "He's a Templar..." she added meekly, as she and her mother approached the group now that the fighting was done.

"Stop squirming Wesley, you'll make it worse," the ginger haired woman chided the injured Templar, who was covered in blood, as he struggled to his feet.

His eyes were trained on Bethany, and she quickly scurried to her sister's side before her anger took over.

"Apostate! Stay back!" Wesley tried to sound intimidating, but his injuries were getting the better of him as Bethany just scoffed.

"Well the Maker certainly has a sense of humour. Darkspawn and now a Templar." she pointed at him while chuckling to herself. "I thought they all abandoned Lothering."

"The spawn are clear in their intent, but a mage is always unknown." he struggled for a moment. "The Order dictates..."

"Wesley." the other woman stated his name, but he ignored her.

"That woman is an apostate." he declared, clearer in his tone as he walked forward, Bethany took a step back as Hawke stood between them glaring up at him. "The Order dictates." he repeated.

"Dear, they saved us," the female warrior pointed out, lifting a hand towards the Templar. "The Maker understands," she informed the man who seemed hell bent on enforcing the laws of the Chantry even in the midst of running from darkspawn.

The man stared at Hawke for a few moments, who had no problem with meeting the man's gaze. Eventually, he relented; shifting his eyes to the ground and stepping back to the woman's side.

"I am Aveline Vallen," the freckled woman introduced herself. "This is my husband, Ser Wesley," gesturing to the Templar. "We can hate each other when we're safe from the horde," she stated, as Hawke moved to stand closer to her family...Bethany more so than the other two.

Bethany turned to look at her sister. "If the nice Templar has been convinced to postpone his hunt for illegal mages," sounding as every bit as sarcastic as her older sister. "Let us not dwell upon it shall we?"

"Agreed," the rogue of the family said, as she folded her arms and studied the couple. "He's awful gentle for a mage hunter but, as long as he keeps away from my sister we shan't have any problems," she commented.

A quick nod from Aveline. "Then, let us be off," she said as the group began moving once more.

They quickly moved down the cliffside towards a small clearing that broke off into several paths. Slowly the group came to a stop as they felt tremors through the ground, something was coming, something big.

An ogre charged through, forcing the warriors to scatter while Carver drew his blade, standing before his mother as he looked up at the beast.

"You soulless bastards!" he roared before swinging at the beast, his attack blocked by the armour it wore.

"Carver!" Hawke shouted, when she saw her brother taking on the beast. It didn't look too happy with the boy's attempts either; especially if the way it took hold of her brother was anything to go by.

The next few moments happened in a blur for her.

One moment, she was fighting Genlocks, the next, she had severed the arm that held her brother captive. She wasn't done; the moment her feet were back on the ground, she was charging the wailing beast. Leaping forward and burying her blades in the diseased monster's neck.

Weapons tearing through flesh, muscle, and bone...black blood coating her form as the only thought that was on her mind was to kill what attempted to harm her family. When she finally came out of her trance, she was panting heavily and standing atop the corpse. And there was Carver, alive.

"I... I..." Carver was stunned for a moment as he looked at his older sister, if she didn't react, he surely would have died.

"Forget about that right now!" Bethany shouted as she pointed over to the other pathways where the Darkspawn were gathering. "We need to fight!"

_And fight they did._

"Maker, there's no end to them," Carver breathed as the group became encircled by darkspawn. The creatures slowly advanced, but a deep rumble filling the air paused everything. Eyes turning upward to a mountain to see a dragon perched from it.

It's wings unwrapping from it's body, before it let out a mighty roar, which sent a majority of the darkspawn fleeing. Then, the red scaled creature took flight; flames hotter than lava exciting it's mouth and it attacked the darkspawn.

The beast landed among it's flames. Burning the tainted creatures with it's fire, hitting them with it's tail, and crushing them beneath deadly claws. Then, once they had fled magic surrounded the creature as it began to transform.

Leaving nothing more than a woman where a beast once stood.

Slowly, the white haired woman sauntered toward the ground. Dragging a darkspawn carcass in her hand; eventually, she dropped it before she stood before the group, cocking a hip out and placing an armored covered hand on it.

"Well, well...what do we have here," she spoke as she observed them. Hawke, and her two siblings moving to approach the woman, while Leandra stayed back; Aveline was busy trying to help Wesley stay on his feet.

It was to no avail.

"It used to be, we never got visitors to the Wilds," the dragon lady spoke, gaining attention back to herself and not the couple's plight. "But not it seems they arrive in hordes!" amusement filling her voice as she made the pun.

"Impressive," Hawke said as she held her hands out. "Where'd you learn to turn into a dragon?" she asked in her usual charm. Hard to believe that only moments ago she had just single handedly killed an Ogre.

An amused smirk came onto the woman's face. "Perhaps I am a dragon," she answered, as she stepped forward a bit. "If so, count yourself lucky. The smell of burning darkspawn does nothing for the appetite," she told them.

She then turned and began walking back a few steps to where the bodies of the darkspawn littered the ground. "If you wish to escape the darkspawn, you should know that you are heading in the wrong direction," she informed the group.

"Wait." Bethany called out. "You can't just leave us here!"

"So you think we can trust a dragon?" Carver spat.

The white haired woman cast a glance over her shoulder. "And why not?" she demanded to know, before turning back around to completely face them. "I spotted a most curious sight: a mighty Ogre vanquished! Who could perform such a feat?" moving to stand before Hawke.

"But now my curiosity is sated, and you are safe...for the moment. Is that not enough?" she asked of them.

An amused smile came onto Hawke's face. "You could show me that trick of yours," gesturing toward the older woman. "That looks useful."

Her response earning a laugh from the dragon. "I dare say it is. Such a clever tongue," she said before taking a step forward. "Tell me, clever child: how do you intend to outrun the Blight?"

"We wish to go to Kirkwall." Bethany answered. "In the Free Marches."

"Kirkwall? My, my but that is quite the voyage you plan," she remarked. "So far...simply to flee the darkspawn."

"Any better suggestions?" Hawke asked, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "I hear the Deep Roads are vacant now."

Her words earning another hearty laugh from the golden eyed woman. "Oh, you I like!" she stated. She observed Hawke a few moments before speaking. "Hurdled into the chaos you fight...and the world will shake before you," she said, almost as if she were speaking a prophecy.

The rogue gave her an odd look, as the woman turned and stepped a few feet away. She folded her arms across her chest as she thought aloud to herself. "Is it fate or chance? I can never decide."

She then dropped her hands and her head, before turning to approach the eldest Hawke sibling once more. "It appears that fortune smiles on us both today. I may be able to help you yet," she spoke, earning the entire groups attention.

"There must be a catch," Hawke said, once again getting an amused laugh from the woman.

"There's always a catch," the dragon confirmed. "Life is a catch! I suggest you _catch_it while you can."

"But we don't even know who you are." Carver pointed out firmly.

Aveline spoke up, gaining attention. "I know what she is. The Witch of the Wilds," she stated, as she looked over at the Hawkes.

The white haired woman shrugged. "Some call me that. Also Flemeth. Asha'bellanar. An "old hag who talks too much!" chuckling as she said that last one. "Does it matter?

I offer you this: I will get your group passed the horde in exchange for a simple delivery to a place not far out of your way. Would you do this for a "Witch of the Wilds?"

"She's a witch!" Carver spat. "We can't trust her!"

Her gaze when towards the young male, eyes shining in amusement as she looked him over. "And what of the company you keep?" she questioned. "You also travel with an apostate. Do you not trust her as well?" came the taunt.

"That's different!" Carver took a step back. "She's my sister!"

"Is it?" Flemeth challenged, with a raised eyebrow.

Hawke decided to step in before this went further. "Now is not the time to argue," she stated, stepping forward. "Considering our options of being a darkspawns twelve course meal, and accepting help from a Witch of the Wilds, I'll take my chances with the witch.

We don't really have much of a choice," she added, before focusing back on Flemeth.

"We never do," Flemeth remarked. "There is a clan of Dalish elves near the city of Kirkwall. Deliver this amulet to Keeper, Marethari," came the instructions as she approached Hawke and gave her amulet.

She took a step back. "Do as she asks with it and any debt between us is paid in full," she said, as Hawke placed it in her pocket. "Before I take you anywhere," she began, stepping back. "However, there is another matter..."

Gaze focusing on the ailing Templar. She and Hawke making steps toward the man, only for Aveline to stand before him. "No! Leave him alone!" the soldier ordered as she moved to cut them off.

"What has been done to your man is within his blood already," Flemeth responded, a look of sympathy coming onto her face.

Aveline glared at her. "You lie!" she accused, unwilling to believe what the witch was saying.

"She's right Aveline." Wesley spoke. "I can feel the corruption inside me."

Hawke looked at Flemeth. "This corruption...is the permanent sort I take it?" she guessed, judging by the severity of the situation.

"The only cure I know of is to become a Grey Warden," came the older woman's answer, causing Hawke to sigh and look at the ground.

"And they all died at Ostagar."

The dragon shook her head. "Not all," she replied, turning to face Aveline. "But the last are now beyond your reach," she informed the married woman. Aveline turned away from that knowledge, leaving Flemeth and Hawke behind who both shared a glance with one another.

Aveline kneeled above her husband. "Aveline, listen to me." he spoke, voice weak. "The corruption is a slow, painful death, I can't... I cannot do this."

Hawke kneeled on the other side of him. "I'm sorry Aveline...this has to be done," the rogue stated. Aveline said nothing, turning her head away for a few moments before nodding her consent.

They rose, Aveline to step away, and Hawke to take up the position where she once was. She observed the dying Templar for a few moments. Slowly, he drew the dagger he carried...lifting it above the soft spot in his armor, right on top of his heart.

"Thank you..." Wesley whispered, as the rouge placed her hands on the hilt. Then, quickly, she forced the blade down and into his heart; a gasp of pain...death was instant. She shut his eyes before rising.

Flemeth coming to stand behind her. "Without an end...there can be no peace," she commented, before turning and walking away. "It gets not easier. Your struggles have only just begun."

"_Flemeth?"_

The Seeker of the Chantry was disbelieving.

"I thought that might interest you." Varric quipped, the Seeker crossed her arms.

"The stories said the Champion was saved by a dragon, but I thought it was the Shepherd's armoured dragon." she started to pace. "But now you're telling me that the myth of the Wilds swooped out to save the Champion instead?"

He let out something between an amused scoff and laugh. "Oh, come now Seeker. Do I need to recite the tale of the Warden as well?" he offered, pointing a hand in her direction.

The armour covered woman stopped pacing at that. "No...perhaps I shouldn't be surprised to hear of her involvement," she responded, as she looked at the storyteller.

He shrugged. "I liked my version better too," came his reply, as he lounged in the stone chair, observing her with near bored eyes. She shook her head.

She studied his expression and couldn't help frowning. "What else aren't you telling me, then? Did she send someone with the Champion?" Cassandra demanded to know.

"In a manner of speaking."

"So it's true." she crossed her arms. "But if you tell me they all flew to Kirkwall on a dragon..." she paused. "You never mentioned the Shepherd, where was she during all of this?"

"Dead," he answered simply.

She took a double take on what he said. "But she was there, how... I don't understand."

The dwarf sat back in his seat. "It's a complicated thing. If I tell you know, it will only confuse you," he told her. "To understand the true depth of what I am telling you, you'll have to hear more of the story."

_The witch kept her word and got them to Gwaren, where they took ship. They sailed north across the Waking Sea, lashed by terrible storms. Two weeks they spent in that dark hole, packed in with the fearful and the desperate._

_And then they saw it: Kirkwall, the City of Chains._

_Long ago, it was part of the Imperium, slaves coming from far and wide to work the quarries. Now, it's a free city. But I use the word loosely._

_Sail through those black cliffs and you'll see what the slaves of old saw: the Gallows, welcoming you. That's where their ship landed with all the rest._

_Unfortunately, the city was locked down. Due to the Blight, there had been a surge in refugees fleeing Ferelden to escape its grasp; the city was being overrun...or so they said anyway. Everyone knows that Fereldens are considered low class._

_But, the Champion wasn't one to give up._

_After saving the lead guardsman's life, he went and fetched their uncle: Gamlen Amell. The man admitted to having...left out details in the letters he wrote to his sister. The Amells weren't as well off as they had been when Leandra left; so, he simply couldn't use influence to get the family plus Aveline into the city._

_However, he's managed to get two..."business" associates to come to the Gallows, who had the coin and connection to grease a few palms to get them into the city. They simply had to meet with them and decide who they wanted to work for. The catch?_

_They'd have to pay of their debt for a year._

_A small price to pay all things considered. They decided to work for Athenril-a woman who specialized in smuggling. Thanks to Hawke, they managed to move up and become the only rival the Coterie._

"And that, was how the Champion and her siblings spent their first year within the City of Chains," Varric finished, as he sat up in his seat.

"Okay, so you gave me the start of the Champion's part of this story." the Seeker sighed, knowing that this was going to be a long one, years and years of material that needed to be covered. "What about the Shepherd?"He adjusted himself in his seat. "This portion of the story, I unfortunately, was not present for. However, I got it from a very good friend...who's very good at information," he informed her, chuckling at the thought.

"So what use is it to me?" The Seeker asked. "For all I know, it might not be the truth."

"Oh, it is the truth. This particular friend of mine only deals with the facts," the dwarf assured her, an amused smirk playing on his lips just thinking about this particular friend.

* * *

A/N: Another Dragon Age X Mass Effect crossover in the works, if you made it to the end of this chapter. We thank you.

This story is being written between me and my friend, OffMyLeash.

The first few chapters will be retellings of the respective games until we get to a proper crossover. There is a list of warnings that will come with time. Also to keep personalities apart. I solely write Commander Shepard and OffMyLeash solely writes Hawke.


	2. Chapter 2

_Shepard, hailing from a world beyond our own, was in the middle of fighting her own Blight. Several years before she came to us, she had fought a battle on the Citadel against the rogue SpecTRe, Saren Arterius, and won. The people rejoiced._

_However, that was only a small portion of the horde. The rest of the horde was still out there, waiting; and, she wasn't content to sit around and wait for them to arrive._

_She and her crew went out in search of a way to stop the Blight before it really began. But, they were ambushed; blindsided for minions working for the Reapers by the name of the Collectors. They saw what Shepard did and that scared them. So naturally, they set out to kill her...and they did._

_For two years she remained dead. Being rebuilt by Cerberus Operative Miranda Lawson-a woman would later become very involved with the Champion. Eventually, all their time, effort, and money paid off and the Shepherd was alive again..._

_...to a world that had downplayed her achievement and warnings._

_With the organization she used to work for not doing their part, she sided with their enemy. Not really a bad decision considering that they played the Maker and brought her back from death. So Shepard set about gathering a team to help not only battle against the Collectors, but also to find a way to stop the Reapers._

_It took time. Gathering companions, information, resources...but, just like the Champion, she managed to do all that and more despite the odds being stacked against her. She'd assembled the best companions in the galaxy to go on a suicide mission and fight the Collectors on their own turf._

_Similar to how the Grey Wardens take to the Deep Roads for one final stand...taking as many of the darkspawn bastards with them as they can. It was because of this suicide mission that Shepard even ended up here...whether by chance or fate, I cannot say._

_But, what I can say is that none of our lives was ever the same after Shepard and her companions landed outside of the City of Chains._

"Liara, please, wait." Shepard called out as she followed the Information Broker after she had dropped Feron's name once more. "We'll get Feron back." Liara stopped for a moment but never looked back before moving forward leaving Shepard behind.

"Just like always." Shepard caught the tail end of a sentence as she chased after Liara again, nearly tripping over her own feet.

"Liara." Shepard repeated, the asari finally turned around.

"You're doing it again." she admitted. "Always being there to help." she looked away as Shepard stepped forward, just trying to get closer to her old friend, Liara backed away slowly. "I can't keep leaning on you Shepard." she turned away again before Shepard could respond.

These last two years had been hard on everyone; she realized. Some more so than others. The Infiltrator turned Sentinel stared at the ground for a moment before taking back off after Liara once more, still hoping that at least one thing still stayed the same between them. Liara must have not noticed Shepard was still lagging because she was still talking, still focused on the Shadow Broker's men.

"Will you just stop for a second!" Shepard shouted, approaching the Asari and taking hold of her arm. Pulling the woman to a stop, and getting Liara to turn around. "We'll be jumping several light years, there's time to talk," she stated, stepping back a bit.

"About what?" the information broker inquired, as she face the human.

"About us, Liara." Shepard exhaled slowly. "When I fell out that window you never looked back." she paused. "I know two years is a long time, but..." she trailed off.

"A little fall wasn't going to kill you," the older of the two responded. "I had to stay on Vasir. I had to stay rational, make the call. Like I did for Sekat."

"That's on Vasir, not you!" Shepard snapped. "You've changed Liara, we've all changed." she took a step back, her mind telling her this was a bad idea, a very bad idea. "I just want to know, if there is still something between us."

The scientist approached the green eyed woman. "Shepard listen...I'm glad you're here," she admitted.

"But." Shepard voiced for her.

A worried, distressed look came onto the blue skinned female's face. "You were dead," she stated. "It's...it's not that easy," casting a glance to the ground. "You can't just come back and have two years of mourning suddenly vanish!"

A sigh escaping her lips as she brought a hand up to her head. "I'm sorry Shepard," came the apology "I can't get into this," blue eyes cast downward as Liara spoke. "For now," bringing her eyes up to meet the Commander's. "Let's just focus on getting Feron back."

_For now, it was always 'for now.'_

Shepard took a step back, agreeing, maybe after all of this, after the Shadow Broker, the Omega 4 Relay, she'll bring the topic back up. "Alright." She gave up. "We'll go and get Feron."

"_Commander, manage to locate our favorite Blue's Clues mystery?"_ Joker's voice came over the Commander's Omni-Tool. She'd never been more happy for his interruption.

Liara cast a curious look over her shoulder. No doubt she wanted to know what the pilot meant by Blue's Clues.

"It's an old children's show." Shepard commented before raising her Omni-Tool. "Joker, why are you calling me?"

"_Jack and Miranda are at it again."_ he informed her for his reason for calling. "_And they're close to putting a hole in the ship"_

Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose as she stepped away from Liara, trying to figure out where Tali had run off too at the same time. "We're on our way back, then I need to you set a course to the coordinates Liara uploaded."

"_I would love to Commander, but the Illusive Man has locked us out of all the systems." _he informed the redhead. "_He won't unlock us until you speak with him."_

Groaning, Shepard threw herself down on the ground, crossing her legs before leaning forward slightly while propping her elbow on her knee while resting her forehead on her land.

"Just not my day."

_"Stop right there dwarf!"_ the seeker roared. "You tell lies!"

"I tell no such thing Cassandra," he responded, holding his hands up. He did little to hide his amusement from her interruption. "I can call you Cassandra, right?"

"No." the woman snapped.

Varric dropped his hands.

"Mages and abominations in the Shepherd's company, I can understand given the stories. But the things you speak of. None make sense. Who gave you this information?"

"Shepard herself, as well as her companions," the marksman answered honestly. "The point is, I am explaining the events that led up to Shepard being here," he pointed out.

"One more question." Cassandra crossed her arms. "You mentioned this, Shadow Broker, a few times. Who is this being? Is what you're telling me even important?" she demanded to know as she stared down at him.

The dwarf chuckled. "Honestly, you're as bad a Junior...no patience at all," he commented. Noticing how she did not find his comparison funny, he decided to continue...least she take that dagger and shove it through something other than a book.

"What I tell you is important I can assure you," Varric told her as he got back to telling his tale. "Now, where was I...oh yes..."

_After gathering Liara from Illum they were set to march on the Shadow Broker. But, it wasn't meant to be...not at the moment at least. The Illusive Man had informed Shepard that he'd intercepted a transmission from a Turian ship._

_It was of an offline Collector ship, and he wanted her to go and investigate the situation. He felt that she might have been able to find information about what the creatures were planning; reason as to why they were abducting humans from remote colonies._

_Unfortunately...he omitted more than his fair share of details. _

_There were no Turians, hell, there wasn't even a transmission. All of it was a ruse by the Illusive Man, to get Shepard to do some digging; his omissions were merely: for the good of humanity. The point is, it was a trap and he knew it._

_He'd sent the Commander and her companions in blind, and they barely managed to escape the ship with their lives._

_But they had learnt one thing, the Collectors, were once Protheans, the Precursor Race to their world._

"_Commander! The ship's coming back online!" _Joker shouted through the comm link as her frantically typed on the console. "_You've gotta get outta there!"_

At the same time he was saying that, a group of Collectors were flying the groups way. Both Jacob and Miranda, sliding behind cover.

"I'm a little busy right now Joker!" Shepard shouted before nodding at Liara who was hiding beside her. Harbinger was relentless yet the Commander was happy he only focused on her. "EDI! Find us a way out!"

"_Hacking the systems now Shepard." _The AI responded.

The group of four was now sprinting their way towards the exit. Having fought ridiculous amounts of enemies; EDI using her influence to open new paths for them to escape through.

Once back on the ship Shepard quickly jumped off the shuttle. Bypassing the elevators and opting for the ladders as she rushed to the bridge. "Random Vector Jump! Now!" she roared.

"Commander, need I remind you of the dangers of doing such a-" EDI was saying before the redhead cut her off.

"I will not be judged on my ship by my own ship!" Shepard shouted. The same words she spoke when she woke Grunt. "Make the jump before those Collectors kill us!"

"Yes Commander." the onboard AI agreed, as Joker typed rapidly on the console.

He pulled them away from the ship and got the started, but EDI did the rest.

"Doesn't look like they're gonna let us go that easy," Joker commented, when he noticed the ship was charging up its thrusters. "But we should be able to lose them in the jump."

Normandy hit Faster Than Light speeds just seconds before the ship fired, getting them out of range and hopefully, away from Human Colonies, should the Collectors be able to track them. Shepard exhaled slowly as she leaned back, Liara and Miranda finally making it up to the bridge.

"Drop us out of FTL in a couple hours. From there we can worry." Shepard told Joker before looking at the two women. "Feel free to start yelling." she held her arms out, her Executive Officer snarled but Shepard didn't let her speak; she had changed her mind. "Know what? Forget it, I need to chew out your boss anyway." she pushed past the two of them. "A fucking goddamn trap."

* * *

"What would you do without me?" Bethany inquired of her sister, as she stood over her eldest sibling.

Hawke seemed to ponder it. "Chances are I would still be wallowing in excruciating pain," came her ever playful and charming response.

Carver folded his arms over his chest as he stood off to the side of them. "We should have worked for the mercenary instead," he commented from his place near the door.

The rogue of the family cracked open an eye in her brother's direction. "I don't recall you speaking up when I was asking for opinions," she countered with a smirk on her face; chuckling as he flipped her off before turning to glare at the wall.

"But, at least we can rest easy, and are no longer under Athenriel's employ," the oldest added, as she shut her eye.

Bethany conceded that point. "I suppose that is true..." She agreed as she allowed waves of creative magic to heal the sea green eyed woman. "Mother will be happy of that knowledge I'm sure."

* * *

Alarms flared within the Normandy. Sending Shepard rushing to the bridge of the ship; to find Joker in a frantic mess at the helm.

"Joker what's going on?" She snapped.

"I don't know!" He responded as he attempted to get the ship together. "Something's wrong! We're...we're losing Eezo!"

"How?!" Shepard snapped EDI's hologram chimed once.

"Something is causing our Eezo supplied to degrade at exceptionally fast rates." she said, if looks could kill, EDI's virtual ass would be actual dust right now. "I do not know the cause of this phenomenon."

"Take us out of FTL then." Shepard growled. "We'll find the closest Garden World and go from there."

"We can't just jump out of FTL like that." Liara growled, as she came onto the bridge just in time to hear the Commander's order.

Joker was typing frantically. "We don't have a choice," he responded. "Better now, while we've got control. The ship's systems are failing fast.

Everyone, hang on!" He announced as he jerked them out of FTL space.

"Shit," he swore under his breath. "We've gotten caught in a planet's orbit, we're falling in."

"Fuck." Shepard growled Liara stared at the Commander.

"Shepard, we live through this, remind me to kill you."

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Joker shouted as they descended rapidly into the atmosphere.

* * *

"Huh, would you look at that Hawke," Varric pointed out as he stopped. "A falling star," getting the trio of Hawkes to turn their gazes upward toward the sky.

The rogue made a noise. "Never seen a star fall during the day before," Hawke stated as they watched it fly across the sky and impact hard into the mountain.

The dwarf looked at the eldest sibling. "We should go take a look at it," came the suggestion. "Star metal is rare and can be used for a lot of things."

"Not to mention it can also add coin to our pocket for the Deep Roads expedition," Carver pointed out as he folded his arms across his chest.

"But..." Bethany started and stop. "If there is enough metal, we might not need to go on the expedition." she pointed out, Carver looked at his twin like she had grown a second head.

"And give up the chance to deepen our pockets further? You must be mad."

"I have to agree with him on this," Sabrina admitted, looking in the direction of where the star fell. "Even if it is enough, I still want to venture into the Deep Roads.

But, that's assuming there's a lot of metal to begin with," the rogue added, looking at her youngest sibling.

"What about our trip to the Dalish settlement?" The marksman inquired, gaining Hawke's attention. "Will we go there now or tomorrow?"

The green eyed sibling thought on it for a few moments. "We'll go to the settlement. It seems that where the star landed was in the direction we are headed. Not like its out of our way," she responded, earning nods from all around.

"So we are going to lead the Dalish right to it?" Carver snapped. "They'll ask for a share! I say we should skip the camp and claim the rock before the elves do."

"If you spent as much time with them as I did dear brother, you'd know that such things do not interest them," Hawke responded, casting her gaze her brother's way. "Everything they craft is from the Earth.

So, I do not see a problem with us going to the camp. We have business there after all," she pointed out, feeling the amulet in her pocket that Flemeth had given her over a year ago.

"Sounds good to me," Varric spoke up. "We should get a move on it. Being in this mountains shadow is...unsettling."

"I'll follow but it doesn't mean I will agree." Carver grumbled, Bethany glared at him.

She sent a small hiss his way; to which he harshly returned. Sabrina stepped in, hissing and baring her teeth at him.

The middle child held her gaze for a few moments before snorting and walking onward. Leaving the others to catch up with him.

"The claws are peeking out I see," the dwarf remarked.

"Oh, you'll know when they're out," Hawke responded before the three of them started after Carver.

* * *

"Is everyone still in one piece?" Shepard groaned as she picked herself up off the floor of the bridge. She looked both ways, Joker was favouring his ribs while Liara was rubbing her forehead, it was probably going to bruise later.

"EDI, status report."

"There is damage to the ship. Nothing major but it will take time to repair. Our biggest loss are out Eezo reserves which are completely diminished." the AI informed her.

Shepard pushed herself up so she was sitting on the floor again, one need up, arm resting on said knee. "Any nearby commlinks?"

"Negative. This entire system is uncharted." EDI responded. "However, it is a habitable planet" she added.

"Any signs of Eezo?" she looked at Liara who was glaring at her, so much for killing the Shadow Broker today.

"I am unable to detect any." EDI answered.

"Shepard." Liara growled darkly, the redhead swallowed nervously.

Thankfully, Shepard was saved from being filleted alive with Liara's mind; the rest of the crew came onto the deck. Something the Commander had never been more happy for in her existence.

"What's our status Commander?" Jacob inquired, unaware of what he had interrupted.

"Crashed,stranded, everything you can find in a bad fiction novel." Shepard commented.

"I hope you have a way for getting us off this planet," Miranda said, as she folded her arms and glared at the Commander, even harsher than what Liara was doing.

"Aw, what's the matter Cheerleader. Missing your master already?" Jack taunted, earning the older woman's attention.

"The most we can do is drop a beacon. Or find an Eezo equivalent." Shepard sighed. "Mordin, Tali. I'm gonna need your help."

"Of course Shepard," the Salarian nodded. "Shouldn't be too difficult. Need samples. Specimens. If not Eezo itself perhaps a substitute can be made."

* * *

"Andraste's bouncing tits," Varric breathed as he and the Hawke siblings stood above the crater. "Just...what is that thing?" He wondered aloud.

It was like no star metal that he'd ever seen.

"No idea, but we should take a closer look," the eldest Hawke stated, as she looked upon it in awe.

The Force Mage of the group backed away slightly. A small whimper escaping her, gaining her sister's attention. "It's okay Bethany," the rogue of the group said, wrapping an arm around her sister. "You don't have to come down. You can stay up here with Merrill."

"Is anyone able to read the writing on the side?" Merrill asked Carver looked up at the bold white lettering.

The middle sibling studied it for a few moments. "No I can't. No writing I've ever seen before," he said. "What is this thing?" craning his neck up to view it in it's entirety.

"We'll know if we get closer," Varric said, earning nods of agreement.

"I want to go too," Bethany stated, earning a smile from her sister and a gently kiss to the side of her head.

Carver just scoffed and rolled his eyes. Hawke did the same at her younger brother. "Let's get going people," she announced, leaning the way down and further into the crater.

"Don't! Don't forget about me!" Merrill cried out as she stumbled down.

* * *

"We need a team to go out and search the parameter," Miranda stated. "A human team," she clarified. With no telling what type of planet they were on. Inhabitants might be hostile, so she had to plan for that.

"You know that limits us greatly." Shepard pointed out, but decided to go against Miranda's plans to an extent. "Kasumi with me. Thane suit up and shadow us."

"It will be done, Commander." Thane agreed. Miranda looked like she was ready to explode as Shepard leveled her with a look. "Miranda and Zaeed, Bravo Team. Jacob and Jack, Delta Team. If things go sour or a thresher maw decides that the metal of the Normandy is an excellent metal supplement. I'll need you as backup."

* * *

"This is amazing," Hawke remarked once they were up close.

Her eyes shifting rapidly over the massive star metal object. Taking in even the smallest details. "The metal from this would be enough to set us up for good...but now that I see it, I can't imagine doing such a thing to it."

"By the Creators," the Dalish elf breathed out, as she slept reached out we hand to touch the thing. She quickly snatched her hand back when she heard a hissing noise. All their attention snapped to the noise; then they heard voices.

They were set to go take a look, but the sound of a roar filled the air. Immediately, they all got into their fighting stances, drawing their weapons and focusing on where the sound originated from. Three Ogres emerged from the bushes...ready for a tussle.

"How the hell did they make it all the way here? Carver complained loudly as he saw the three beasts.

"Were they drawn here by the crash?" Bethany asked as she drew her staff, bringing her magic forward as Merrill did the same. The eldest among them twirled her blades grinning like a madman as she prepared for a good fight.

"Probably," she commented. "But I'm up for an afternoon workout,"she spoke before charging into the fray. Her brother trailing behind her. Their distance fighters set themselves up at a safe enough distance before magic and arrows were raining down on the darkspawn. The dwarf let out a laugh.

"Lets dance you sons of bitches!" He shouted, as he nailed an Ogre in the eye. The fight continued like so for a few moment, even though they were technically outnumbered, three ogres could easily slaughter a platoon to seasoned men, three humans, a dwarf and an elf, they could fight, but the chances of victory were slim, at best.

They decided to try to target one of them altogether at first, lower the numbers before taking the chance and breaking off into two teams to take out the other two. The problem was that they couldn't keep two of them off their backs at the same time. they just found themselves crowded.

"Watch it!" Carver snapped when he bumped into Hawke. "Give me room to swing!" they both had to dive to dodge the charge from one of the beasts.

"If you're going to take that much space to swing, you might as well just let them kill you while you're at it!" Hawke snapped back, as she came out of her roll and onto her feet. "We could use some magic here!" shouting over at the two mages within their party.

* * *

"You hear that Shep?" Kasumi inquired, as they stood near the airlock. The sound of battle was reaching their ears...and it was very close if the sounds and tremors to the ground weren't proof enough of that.

"Thane, what do you see?" Shepard asked over the coms, the Drell was quick to respond.

"_Natives, fighting beasts larger than Krogan."_ Thane explained. "_Their technology does not match that of ours. I have a clear shot, should I take it?"_

"Negative, Kasumi and I will go in." Shepard said, pulling her Mattock off her back and activating it's Omni-Blade. "If it seems like too much for us, hail for Miranda and Jacob's teams." she instructed.

"I'm not hearing guns." Kasumi looked at Shepard. "More like..." she paused, trying to listen. "The song and dance of metal blades cutting air and flesh."

"I should really have you and Williams meet one day at a poetry club." Shepard dryly commented before they started sneaking around, Kasumi was right though, the sounds she was hearing, belonged in a holo game. They took a peek around, and jaws dropped.

"Just fall already, Blighter!" a tattooed native with pointy ears shouted, as she sent a lightning bolt the ogre's way. That got a pain filled cry out of the beast; but, it also irritated it as well-the smell of it's burnt flesh filling the air, enough to make a person vomit.

Which is what Kasumi and Shepard were trying their best not to do, never having smelled such a stench before.

"Maker, can't these things ever go down easy?" the short man asked, as he moved into another position. Hoping a better vantage point would allow him more kill zones in their enemies flesh.

The ogre the first woman had hit with lightning came in to charge her. It would have succeeded in running her over, had the long dark haired woman not used some sort of tech on it; freezing the wounded beast in it's tracks. While the two technicians worked on their Ogre, and the large male with a massive sword with the shot male with the weird crossbow gun worked on theirs, it left the last person, a dark short haired woman to go toe to toe with one on her own.

Shepard looked back at Kasumi and the thief understood. Quickly she cloaked while Shepard slowly left her hiding spot, crossing her left arm over to her right shoulder while summoning her Tech Armour, while the notion truly had no effect, it was a habit she picked up because it made her feel cooler.

What a fight this was going to be.

A/N: ME2 but using ME3 Omni-Tech. This, particular, Sentinel Shepard of mine... (seeing that she was in Infiltrator in ME1) Well, we'll see her fight in the next chapter... she's a hypocrite.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wait, who's that?" Merrill asked, allowing herself to get distracted for a moment as the newcomer raised her odd, slightly glowing weapon and started firing at the closest ogre, the one the two mages were fighting with. Easily distracting an enraging it.

"Dance with me, motherfucker." The redhead snarled as the beast charged her, the woman rolled out of the way before slapping the side of her odd weapon before firing another round of consecutive, seemingly invisible shots.

"Looks like its coming back for an encore alright," Varric quipped, as he kept his eyes focused on his own enemy. He didn't have time to wonder where this woman came from, or why she glowed as she did, or why her weapon was so strange looking.

Those questions could come later, after they'd survived, over endless pints of ale.

"Maker's breath," Bethany breathed out, as she took in the sight. Watching the scene unfold, now that the ogre wasn't interested in herself and Merrill anymore; it seemed much more intent on killing the newcomer.

"Hope she knows how to dance to his number," Hawke quipped, as she ducked under a fist by the ogre she was fighting; taking the opportunity to cut into the creature's arm with her daggers...getting in there nice and deep too.

Black blood shooting out and landing across her armor and neck.

"Just who does she think she is?" Carver snarled as he stepped back from his fight before lunging forward with his blade, slicing into the orge's waist he and Varric were fighting.

The red haired woman exhaled slowly before realizing something when she hit the side of her weapon, growling to herself as she checked her belt. Changing her hold on her weapon, she chucked it forward like a javelin, the fire blade catching the ogre in the chest before she ran in head first, slamming her shoulder into the weapon and forcing it in deeper as black blood sprayed out. Snarling, her magics flared as she slammed a powerful spell into the beast, smiling when she saw the blue flames take hold. She moved back making sure to take her weapon back and tossing it aside to prevent it from being damaged any further.

"I'm flipping serious!" Carver shouted when he saw that, the ongoings between the newcomer distracting him from his own fight and just enraging him further, not only was she good with, whatever that weapon was, but a mage as well? Could the day get any better?

Hawke's ogre came at her again, but she was too quick for the beast. When it leaned down, she jumped forward, ramming her dagger's into it's torso; using them to climb up to its head. When she got to the neck, she wasted no time in burying her blade up to the hilt in the creature's neck.

A shrill cry filling the air, as the ogre let out a roar as it stumbled back in pain. It attempted to dislodge her, but it's struggles were useless, as she simply added more pressure. Eventually, the purple skinned monster fell over, landing on it's back.

Standing on its downed form, the rogue took her second blade and put it through the darkspawn's rib cage, and right into it's heart. The blow killing the tainted creature instantly; more of it's tainted blood covering her form as she removed one of her daggers.

The black haired sibling then took a seat atop her kill, eyes focused on the remaining two ogres.

"Junior! Behind you!" Varric shouted at Carver, almost stopping both fights, Carver just found himself distracted that he turned around almost too late to dodge the charging ogre. Swearing he brought up his blade to block, knowing it wasn't going to be enough.

The ogre fell.

"Oops, did I do that?" Carver heard a woman's voice as the owner appeared behind the fallen beast in a soft shimmer of light, her face was hooded, but it wasn't hard to see that smile on her face. "My bad."

"Who are you?" he snarled still holding onto his sword, the woman smiled at him.

"Impressive, but with a blade that big, doesn't it just make you wonder?" she chuckled to herself before looking at the other woman. "Shep, stop playing around already!"

"Playing?" Carver and Varric coursed at the same time.

The other woman, Shep, so the others assumed, had backed away from the ogre holding both her hands out before a different type of fire surrounded them, taking the form of daggers over her hands.

"Blades of Fire?" Merrill asked, more interested in the redhead then worried about the ongoing fight.

"I...I've never..." the youngest Hawke breathed out as she took in the sight. She'd never seen a mage produce finely controlled fire from their own body; Shep must be very powerful.

Varric lowered his crossbow. "Our band of people continues to attract the strangest of characters," he remarked, as he took in the sight along with everyone else.

"You know what Kasumi! I was enjoying the change of pace!" Shep shouted back before jumping forward on the ogre, plunging the left blade just before the neck before swinging her body around so her feet were planted on it's shoulder blades as she grabbed a horn with her right hand as that blade disappeared, having no use for it. The momentum she gave herself had created a larger gash as she brought it back up before forcing it back down on his neck, breaking it and killing the beast before it had fallen.

Hawke grinned. "I do so love a bloodbath," she stated, as she hopped down off of her fallen foe; grabbing her other blade as she did so.

The marksman chuckled. "Maker's breath, Hawke. You certainly do get results," looking at the ogre behind her, that she had killed before the others. "People love things like this in a story...especially the women," smirking at her as she simply chuckled at the expression on his face.

"I know they do. Isabela has been keeping me quite informed about how many men and women would love to have me in their beds," the rogue responded, as she approached the group. She was heading toward the two newcomers but, alas, her brother beat her to it.

And, the middle Hawke was not happy.

"Just who do you think you are?!" he roared, pointing at Kasumi and Shep. "You think you can just jump in and show off like that?"

"Oi!" Shep shouted back as she stormed up to Carver, he towered over her by at least a head. "Who the hell do you think you are eh?" she pushed him back. "If it wasn't for my friend here you'd be fucking paste on the ground buddy." That was when Carver realized she was speaking with an accent and dialect he had never heard before.

He was not deterred, however. This was not his first time in going up against a strong willed female; he'd had years of practice from his older sister.

"I didn't need her help!" he snarled back, sounding so animalistic with his sound. "I had everything under control! I am a warrior, I don't need people jumping in to save me!"

"You could have fooled me." Shep laughed. "All I saw was a distracted boy on the battlefield."

The warrior's scowl deepened, and he stepped forward, glaring down at the redhead.

Shep looked back up at him. "Know what? I'll be nice to you, kid." she took a step back and held her arms out. "Take that blade of yours, attack me, we'll see who's left standing, eh?" she grinned.

The golden eyed male was set to do just that. He got enough of his older sister stepping in to save him; he didn't need, nor would he put up, with random women doing the same.

"Think about what you're doing Junior," Varric warned, not that the middle Hawke listened to his warning. How the sisters could have such a hot head of a brother was beyond him.

Carver took a firm hold of his blade as he went into his fighting stance. Then, with all his strength, he swung it at her; in the perfect display of form and power. Briefly, he wondered why she didn't go on the defensive.

She didn't even attempt to stop the attack.

The moment his blade came into contact with that fiery-like armour she wore over her odd-looking black armour, everything exploded in a flash of orange, some sort of impact force striking him and knocking him clean off his feet. He landed back on the dirt, surprised as she walked up to him, raising her foot and pressing it against his chest so he was forced to lean back.

"So, decided on the type of person yer trying to intimidate yet?" she snarled as her magics flared, looking down at him, as he struggled and glared up at her with burning eyes.

"Enough Carver!" Hawke's voice snapped, as she approached the pair. She looked at her pinned sibling before shifting her attention to the redhead. "I'll kindly have to ask for you to not kill my brother...even if he is a right tit," she said to the glowing woman.

Her gaze then went back to the warrior of their family. "This is not how we show our appreciation to extra help," she chided him. "You should be grateful...that ogre could have killed you Carver.

And then mother would have killed me!" Placing a hand to her head, letting out a sigh at just the thought. Her mother was likely to run her through if she had to explain that Carver was killed by an ogre...the very thing she save him from being killed by a year ago.

"He's got a quad, I'd give him that." Kasumi quipped. "Not many people are in the right mind to challenge you outright like that Shepard, unless it's Aria." Shepard removed her foot from Carver as she let her magic fade away.

"We're not bringing Aria into this conversation." Shepard snapped at Kasumi before offering her hand at Carver, he just smacked her hand away and got up on his own free will. Clicking her tongue once she looked at the odd group before her. "So..." she realized they were staring at her. "What were those things?"

They looked surprised. "Andraste's tits, Glow Worm, you've never seen a Darkspawn before?" he countered in surprise.

Hawke thought on it for a few moments. "It's possible..." she said to him before turning to the two women. "You are the voices we heard come out of the Star Metal right?" the rogue questioned.

"Glow Worm, is a no." Shepard said quickly, pointing at Varric, rejecting the name. "The name is Shepard; n' no, I have never seen or heard of Darkspawn before."

"We were probably the voices you heard." Kasumi answered the second question. "But the Normandy isn't Star Metal, or whatever you just called it... otherwise I would have pawned her off by now." she stopped when Shepard looked at her. "She's the best ship in the galaxy if you ask me."

"Gal-axe-see?" Bethany sounded out the word slowly. "What is that?" she asked the hooded woman

Carver folded his arms across his chest. "Whatever. Can we go now?!" he demanded. "There's nothing of importance here anyway," upset because of how easily this Shepard had bested him.

Hawke sighed, muttering something that only Bethany understood. Which earned her another glare from her brother. "Carver..." she sighed the name, as her rubbed at her head.

"They could be Templars for all we know!" he shouted at her, jabbing a finger at Shepard and Kasumi.

Green eyes focused on the two women. "Are you Templars?" she asked them, taking in their appearances. She highly doubted they were Templars due to their armour alone; but, their admittance to not knowing what a Darkspawn was helped in that deduction.

Still, she felt she should at least humour her brother to save some of his wounded pride.

"Not really one for manners are you Junior?" Varric asked the taller man, who was off to the side and alienated from the group.

"They can't be Templars!" Merrill was suddenly waving her hands. "Shepard used magic!"

"Magic?" Shepard parroted, confused as she brought up her right hand before snapping her fingers and producing a blue fire. "You mean my biotics, don't you?"

"And the Fire Blades!" the elf smiled, Shepard still looked confused.

Hawke walked slowly around the two women. "Still, we have two mages in our party...I will not risk it," she stated. "If you are not Templars, I want you to tell me from your own mouths."

Varric looked at the flame surrounding the redhead's hand. "Blue coloured magic...that's new," he whistled, as he observed it. "I'm actually kind of glad this Normandy didn't land closer to Kirkwall," he voiced.

The others of their party nodded. "The Knight-Commander would simply have a field day with this," Bethany pointed out. "I'm not sure if she'd want to make us Tranquil, cut off our hands, or kill us.

Personally, I'd take the last two methods," she stated, earning her sister's presence beside her. The older Hawke encompassing the youngest in a hug.

Varric let out a light chuckle from the sight. "Don't worry Sunshine...it would take the entire Order to get through your sister to get to you," he informed her, as he noticed the kiss the rogue bestowed upon the mage.

It was their usual harmless gesture...well, harmless to them anyway.

Shepard cleared her throat, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and awkward. "We're not Templars." she said. "Are they some kind of military faction?"

"Oh!" Kasumi clapped her hands together. "I read this all the time in my novels." she turned to Shepard. "You think that when we botched up that jump we got sent back in time?"

"Then Liara is most definitely going to kill me." Shepard pushed Kasumi away slightly.

Hawke grinned from that. "Then we are not enemies," turning her gaze to face the two women, still draped on her sister.

The Dalish elf looked confused. "Sent back...in time?" she asked/wondered aloud, as she looked at the two women curiously.

The storyteller noticed Shepard's discomfort. His attention went to Carver. "Say, Junior, how come I've never seen you in on the affection?" he asked, referring to the closeness Hawke and Bethany shared.

"Like I want to be a part of that." Carver snapped. "Thanks but no thanks." he looked away as Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to quell a growing headache this mess was slowly becoming. "So, are we going to leave now or what? We saw what we came for."

"Actually, we were hoping you guys could help us." Shepard called out as she ran her hand through her hair. "To our maps, everything is uncharted and..." she stopped, realizing what she was about to say, but decided to say it anyway. "We need help getting back to Citadel Space."

"Citadel Space?" Carver asked, almost sounding disgusted. "What in Maker's name is that?"

"One of the five divisions of the galaxy." Shepard quickly snapped. "Something, now that I think about it, none of you understand. So," she raised a second finger. "Second question. Where are we?"

"We, are in the Free Marches. Outside Kirkwall, the City of Chains," Hawke answered as she moved away from her sister. "And we," gesturing to all of them. "Are on Mount Sundermount."

"Yeah." Shepard dropped her arms. "No idea what you are talking about."

Hawke cast a glance to the sky, noticing that it was getting later. "I'd be more than happy to discuss this with you Serah, but my companions and I have business to attend to at the top of the mountain," she informed the redhead.

"You are welcome to join us of course," the rogue extended the offer.

"Shepard. Commander Shepard, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance." Shepard corrected. before looking at Kasumi. "It might be our best bet, get a scope of the area."

"No!" Carver snapped, "She... they... are not coming with us!" he pointed at the two of them. "We don't even know them and you're just going to invite them along like that?"

"Carver!" Bethany snapped. "They saved your life." she pointed out. "Give them a little credit."

"We don't need more mages!" the warrior growled. "It's already bad enough with Anders."

"I'm not a mage, if that helps." Shepard responded, earning a scoff from the tall male and looks from the two mages of the group.

"Yes, you are." Carver snarled, Shepard blinked once, somehow keeping her own temper in check. Kasumi knew the Commander, she was quick to fly off the handle. "We damn well know a mage when we see one." he pointed at Shepard. "I don't know how you do it without a staff, but we all know magic when we see it." Shepard started laughing.

"I can't even make a fireball using a lighter, what on earth makes you think I can perform magic tricks eh?" she stared at him.

"I'll admit Goldie Locks," Varric spoke up. "I'm not always one to agree with Junior," earning a glare from the male Hawke. "But I have to agree with him here. You glow blue, and can do what only the mages of this land can do, and yet you deny being a mage.

You'll have to explain that to us," he said.

"Tricks? I didn't know people could do tricks with magic," Merrill commented in her chipper tone. "You humans are so fascinating. I'm not even in the city and already I'm learning things," completely oblivious to what was going on.

"Carver, if you don't like it, stay here," Hawke remarked, as her brother's attitude was starting to wear on her nerves. Normally, he wouldn't get to her so quickly, but they'd been having a good couple of weeks without him whining and she had gotten used to that.

A mistake on her part.

"It's already going to be a hassle enough getting up the mountain and back before dark," she stated. "I don't want to have to listen to your whining...I might mistake you for an undead with all your screaming," frowning at him as she spoke.

The elf looked confused. "How could you mistake him for an undead?" she inquired. "He's very much alive...flesh on his bones...a heartbeat...above ground-"

"Screw it!" Carver shouted, cutting Merrill off. "I don't want to be with you freaks anyway!" with that he quickly turned on heel and stormed off.

"That boiled to a point of no return rather quickly." Kasumi commented, Shepard was still trying to wrap her head around a few things.

"You still got me lost on this whole mage thing." Shepard brought the attention back to her. "I'm a biotic and a pretty handy technician. None of that 'alakazam' kinda things." she flared her fingers out how a magician would when trying to pull a rabbit out of his hat. "Everything I can do is thanks to modern technology."

Hawke and her companions simply gave her blank looks. Not fully understanding what she was talking about.

"So...how about introductions?" Kasumi suggested, just to change the subject.

"Finally, something I understand completely," Varric remarked with a laugh. "The names Varric Tethras friend," he introduced himself. "And this here is my one true love, Bianca," holding up his crossbow.

The tattooed Hawke chuckled. "Careful Varric...I think Isabela would be crushed to know that she doesn't have a chance of winning not only your heart, but all that manly chest hair of yours to run her fingers through," she teased with a playful smirk on her face.

"Um...hello...my name is Merrill," the female elf spoke up shyly. "No last name, just Merrill. I'm a Dalish...and a mage...and a fighter I suppose...I...I'll just stop talking now," she squeaked as her cheeks flushed red.

"You are just too adorable Daisy," the dwarf stated with a chuckle, tucking his weapon away.

Bethany sighed. "My name is Bethany Hawke. The big lout you were fighting with earlier, is my older brother Carver. He's my twin," she informed them, leaving her sister the only one to introduce herself. "He's normally not so...aggressive right off."

"And my name is Sabrina Hawke," giving a dramatized bow as she introduced herself. "The oldest and wildest of the Hawke siblings. Please, don't hold having Carver as my brother against me," she joked, earning a light elbow to the side, causing her to laugh loudly.

"Kasumi Goto, a pleasure." Kasumi did a mock curtsy. "Sheppy here has already introduced herself, so I think we're mostly on the same page now." she smiled.

"Not with this mage thing." Shepard grumbled.

"You can toy with the forces of gravity Shep." Kasumi looked at her. "To them, that's magic, therefore, you are a mage."

"Err...maybe a demonstration is in order?" Sabrina suggested, looking at the two mages of the group. "Would you two mind?" she asked them.

Bethany looked awfully shy about displaying her powers when not in a battle. "I...I suppose so," she answered, as she stepped around her sister. "What should I do?"

"Something that Goldie Locks there can't," Varric told her. "How's about a Firestorm?" he suggested, a gleam in his eye.

Sabrina levelled him a dull look. "You just want to freak people out," she said dryly, before a grin spread across her face. "I like the way you think," snickering. "Just within this area sister," she told Bethany, to which the younger woman nodded. Slowly she performed a scooping-like motion with her hands as fire formed an burned, fireballs suddenly raining down from the sky that had the two newcomers in a certain panic. Shepard falling flat on her ass, wide eyed as the fire rained down around her.

"What the fuck... what the bloody hell fuck." Shepard commented, Kasumi was already gone, cloaked and disappeared. Shepard didn't blame her.

Sabrina and Varric were laughing their asses off. Not even bothered by the fire that came down around them; it wasn't even registering in their minds. Shepard and her companion's reaction stuck out to them through and through.

"That...that's enough sister..." Sabrina said between laughter as she tried to calm herself down. Bethany calmed herself, dispersing the magic, her eyes returning to their golden colour and not ghostly white.

Varric was the first to get himself together, though barely. "That, Goldie Locks, was magic," he informed her. "And, judging by your comical reaction I believe you now when you say you are no mage.

In fact, I'm inclined to believe that you've never seen magic up until this point," he added with a highly amused smirk on his face.

"I love how your companion ditched you," the rogue said, as she held her sides calming down from her laughter. "Wonder if she'll do the same if you encounter a dragon?" she wondered aloud. "But," finally managing to reign in her laughter.

"There is no need to be afraid," she told the redhead, approaching her and offering the woman a hand.

"Thanks." Shepard said as she took the offered hand. "The whole 'flay you alive with my mind' thing I can do." she commented. "Fireballs falling from the sky because someone willed it, can't do." she shook her head. "As for Kasumi. She's the best, but not the most famous." she crossed her arms. "Better check your pockets."

Sabrina just smirked and held up something. "I think she is the one who needs to check her pockets," holding up something she'd gotten off the thief's person. "I have no idea what this is, but it was so fun to swipe it off her.

I felt her feeling me up earlier," she confessed, gaining a very surprised look from the Commander. "I'm a rogue...stealth is part of the job," she added, grinning like a fox.

Suddenly a new voice spoke, in a language they could not understand, at least, everyone but Shepard. Causing the group of natives to draw their weapons and get into their fighting stances.

"I'm fine Thane." Shepard answered suddenly. "Just a little shell shocked." she looked both ways at the same time. "You can return to the ship, let Operative Lawson know that this is First Contact for the natives here." the group of them could see the shadows shift slightly before whoever was hiding there disappeared. "Thane Krios, my assassin." Shepard explained. "You won't know he's there until you're dead."

"He spoke to you," Sabrina said, forcing her body to relax as she put away her weapons. To which Shepard nodded. "What did he say? I could not understand him," she stated.

"He just asked if I was okay, nothing to worry about." Shepard sighed, now the annoyance was starting to build. "Several members aboard my ship cannot speak our language, but we can all understand each other." she summarized quickly.

"Actually." Bethany raised her hand. "I think I need to point out the ogre in them room here." she then pointed at the Normandy. "Several times I've heard you call that a ship. We saw it as a falling star, how did you manage that?"

Shepard stopped, staring at the young mage before bringing her hand up to her face, feeling the indentations her scars left behind on her skin for a moment, slowly she pointed towards the sky. She was set to speak, but another voice beat her to it. "_Hey Commander, nice response to fire,"_ A man's voice came in over a ball of fire that formed on the back of her left hand,l sounding highly amused. "_Who knew that was all it took to get you on your ass,"_ he teased.

"Fuck off Joker!" Shepard snarled as she smothered the fire on her hand. "How was I to know they weren't going to fry to a crisp? Already done that once, don't want to do it again." she finished.

Varric chuckled. "Don't worry, Goldie Locks, Sunshine is a one of the best mages I've met," causing the young Hawke to blush under the praise. "She's skilled enough to where her attacks only harm those that are her enemies. It's harmless to the rest of us."

_Not exactly what I was talking about little man._ Shepard thought idly.

"Creators...someone just spoke out of your arm," Merrill said, looking at the fireblade that came back on the woman's forearm. "That is amazing...humans have such neat toys."

"Yes... we do... I guess we do." Shepard ran her fingers through her hair again before picking up her weapon, the blade suddenly disappeared before she set it on the back of her armour where it folded up with a few odd sounds. ""You guys said something about climbing this mountain?" she pointed to the peak. "I think I should tag along, if I can get a bird's eye view of the area, my crew and I can decide where we can move the Normandy to, so we can get her out of this crater.

That is, if you're okay with it." she added after a moment's pause. "Otherwise I can just gather a squad of my own men and go up ourselves later."

"I think the only person who had a problem with you was Junior, Goldie Locks," Varric informed her. "And that was more due to you saving his ass, than anything...at least, for now. Give it time and he'll find more to be angry at you about," chuckling as he spoke to the red haired human.

Sabrina gave a nod of agreement. "I have no problem with you coming with us," she voiced before grinning. "We can get to know one another more," she stated,as she tilted her head toward the mountain.

"Are you ready?" the party leader inquired of the Commander.

"Almost." Shepard said. "I just need to run back and resupply, shouldn't be too long." she took a few steps back while saying this before turning on the ball of her foot and running to the other side of the ship.

"I like her." Merrill said once she was out of earshot. "She seems very nice." Her statement earning a chuckle from Varric

"Seems like a potential drinking buddy as well," the dwarf added in. "And you know how much Rivani and I love new drinking buddies," giving a smirk earning laughs from the two Hawke siblings.

The group waited for a few moments before the Commander returned. She had a couple more strange weapons on her person and was pulling on some weird looking helmet that covered her entire face, a golden plate where her eyes were with N-Seven written on both sides.

"Can you see though that?" Merrill inquired, Shepard turned to look at her.

"Yeah." she answered, her voice garbled slightly, like Templars wearing their own full helmets, but it didn't echo the same way. "I'm not a big fan of helmets, but I don't really want to take chances with my skull just yet." she responded.

Merrill twisted her foot into the dirt. "I don't think I like helmet's much really," she spoke up. "They're so confining...block out the fresh air. Plus, I'm not much of a fan of small spaces."

Sabrina let out a laugh. "Then you might want to reconsider ravelling with us," she said as they began making their way out of the crater. "My errands so far have led us into deep dark damp caves.

Filled with equal amounts bandits and undead alike," the rogue commented.

The Dalish elf was quick to respond. "Oh no, no, no...I enjoy travelling with you. Even though it's only been a few hours," she admitted shyly. "Being with you all so far has been fun, exciting really.

Well, except your brother. He isn't very cheerful," she added, earning amused laughs from the sisters as well as Varric.

"Daisy, Junior's got a sword wedged so far up his ass that it rivals the deepness of the Deep Roads," the storyteller remarked, earning an outright laugh from Sabrina. "Seriously, you two," looking at the sisters as Hawke took point and let them out of the crater. "How'd Junior get to be so different from you and Sunshine?"

"Carver has always been like that." Bethany sighed. "I think he was always finding himself in my sister's shadow, he wants to make it out on his own, but he's always identified as 'Hawke's Little Brother."

"I can relate." Shepard muttered dryly as she played with the side of her helmet, Bethany could have sworn she was seeing some of the plates move slightly. "But it isn't something I wish to discuss, not with people I hardly know."

"Then why bring it up in the first place?" Sabrina tossed back, glancing over her shoulder with a grin on her face and eyes shining, as she emerged from the crater. Followed by the others after a few moments. "You trying to make us even more curious about you?"

Shepard sighed softly. "Basically, if you yell loud and long enough, people are bound to notice you." she answered, sounding more annoyed than anything. "Is that enough for you?"

The beardless dwarf could understand that, referring to what both women said. "Oh, believe me, I can understand how he feels. I'm a professional younger brother after all," he remarked, not that the siblings needed reminding of that. They'd met Bartrand first hand. "Still, I don't think Junior understands.

Being the centre of attention's the worst place to be. When things go wrong, and they always do, that's where all the fingers point. Just look at any kingdom in Thedas," the shortest among them pointed out. "He doesn't get that there are people who warm thrones, and people nobody sees who do the real work."

The golden eyed Hawke let out a chuckle. "Knowing Carver, he'd probably say: _And my sister is a queen in this scenario? Perfect_," giggling as she thought about it.

"And he would miss the point entirely, Serah," the blonde haired dwarf said with a shake of his head.

"Wait..." Shepard looked at them, the appearance of her helmet a little unnerving. "You still have Kings and Queens? And they aren't novelty positions?"

"Of course we do," Bethany answered, a little confused as to where that question came from. Why wouldn't they have rulers.

"Though, their positions being novelty is up for debate," Hawke tossed in, as they made their way further up the mountain side. They'd yet to run into anymore creatures, which was never a good thing.

For a place to be devoid of wildlife, meant that the area had things that wanted to kill them.

Varric looked up at the redhead as he walked beside her. "What? No kings and queens where you hail from Serah?" he asked of her. "I'd say I'd wonder how your lands function, but I'm sure it wouldn't be any different than if there was royalty seated on the throne.

They'd simply be warming it, and looking like a nice chess piece, while the common men and women are responsible for keeping the world moving along."

"We got the British Royal Family back on my home world, but they have no political say, at least, that's what I'm lead to believe... yet my country still has a Governor General..." she paused, holding the bottom of her helmet where her chin would be. "But that aside, no Kings and Queens for the humans; we got Prime Ministers and Presidents of the sort. Other races have Primarchs, Dalatrasses and Matriarchs, as an example. However everything major falls to the Citadel Council.

Of course I'm not the one you should be talking politics with, I'm the idiot trying to yell loud enough to be noticed."

The group of four just gave her strange looks. "You certainly are a weird one Serah," Sabrina commented as they reached a barrier blocking them from entering their destination.

"This certainly is a strong barrier sister," Bethany voiced, as she sensed the magic used to conjure it. "Powerful...beyond my capabilities," informing the tattooed female as Merrill moved to step to the front of the group.

"Wait." Shepard stopped the elf, holding her hand out before looking at the barrier herself. She had seen similar things before, and curiosity always got the better of her. Raising her hand the glowing fire, thing, appeared over her arm as she waved it over it before looking down at it, tapping it a few times. "This is unusual." she commented. "No power source... but trace amounts of Eezo..." she muttered before taking a step back as her magic, biotics, flared before she threw a ball of fire at it. There was a sounding explosion, but nothing changed.

"What..." she sounded, a confused look on her face, not that it could be seen due to the helmet covering her face. That always worked to take down a barrier.

Merrill continued forward, after Shepard's attempt didn't work. The elf stood next to Hawke. "I can open the way forward," came the statement, as her large, forest green eyes focused on the rogue. "One moment," she requested, before stepping forward to stand before the barrier.

She drew a curved knife from the sheath she carried on her back. She then quickly sliced open the palm of her hand; a large amount of blood flowing from the wound before she took control of it-the liquid floating around her-before she sent it crashing into the blue barrier.

Successfully removing it from the path, before turning to face the rest of the party.

Bethany shifted. "I felt the Veil shift," came her statement. "You called something here. Are you insane?" she questioned, looking at the Dalish Elf.

"Yes, it was blood magic, but I know what I'm doing," Merrill declared, before turning to look at Hawke. "But it helped us didn't it?"

"Sure, demons are very helpful," Sabrina responded with her usual charm. "Right up until they take your mind and turn you into a monster," she pointed out.

The elf was silent for a few moments. "Well...yes, but that won't happen," the mage insisted, giving a shake of her head and a cutting gesture with her hand. "I know how to defend myself.

Be careful up ahead," she added, before turning to walk a little up the path. "Restless things prowl the heights," came the warning.

"Wait, wait, stop." Shepard held up her gloved hands. "The human is lost."

"We're just going up the mountain and-" Merrill began but stopped when the Commander held up a hand.

"Not that kind of lost." Shepard sighed. "What just happened kind of lost." she placed her hand on the front of her helmet for a moment. "This is worse than dealing with the asari." she muttered.

Sabrina gave her a confused look. "Surely you've seen magic before?" came the inquiry. "What Merrill just performed was magic."

"Blood magic," Bethany corrected. "Possessing magic is already bad enough, but to be a Blood Mage on top of it..." she trailed, shuttering at the thought. "Nothing good comes out of blood magic. Not to mention she called something here." Growing restless as she could sense it's presence.

"I think this is a repeat of a conversation we already had." Shepard sighed lowering her hand. "No, I have not seen magic... well this kind of magic... before." crossing her arms she leaned her weight back. "But you really believe in demons? Those are just stories you tell kids to behave at night..." she paused. "No... no..." she looked up slightly, thoughtful almost. "The Collectors and Reapers certainly fall under that category, but more on the genocidal maniacs category."

There was silence. For a moment. A really, really, _really_ long moment, before it was shattered by the sound of Varric letting loose a hearty laugh. He was highly amused if how long his laughter persisted was anything to go by; the Commander's words amusing him greatly it would seem.

"No...no...no such thing as demons! Oh that's even richer than my tales!" the exclaimed, as he brought a hand up to rub the tears from his eyes. "You certainly know how to cater to the spirit Serah. I needed a good laugh.

Next thing you'll be telling us is that there's no such thing as the Fade," he added, fighting off the urge to laugh again. "Or that darkspawn are just made up."

Sabrina shook her head in amusement. "Pull yourself together Varric," she told the beardless dwarf, who gave her a hand gesture showing that he would comply...eventually. She then shifted her attention to the Commander. "Perhaps...where you hail from, that holds true. I admit, I find the idea that demons don't exist to be laughable as well but...they are very real, and very dangerous."

Noticing that the marksman had finally pulled himself together she signalled for the all to move on.

"A burial ground?" Sabrina inquired looking at Merrill.

"The Elders came here to sleep." Merrill spoke softly. "For the endless dream, but they no longer sleep peacefully anymore." she retreated back slightly while Shepard took a step forward into the ground, the group watched as she paused, looking around slowly and hesitant, much like how Bethany was.

"You feel that?" Sabrina asked, as she drew her weapon. The air them plummeting to chilling heights. "Death is here," she stated, crouching into her fighting stance.

From the graves, arms broke through the ground. The wails of the dead filling the air as skeletons clawed their way up from beneath the ground; intent on taking the lives of those who had entered the burial sight.

Bethany removed her staff from her back. "It would seem that whatever Merrill called here, isn't so quick to leave as they were to help," she commented, as she twirled her staff, sending bursts of magic towards the undead. Hitting them before they could fully come to ground.

"Never a dull moment with you Hawke," Varric said in excitement as his charged forward, pulling Bianca out as he did so.

"Alright, now I've seen it all." Shepard commented dryly when she saw the bodies rise from the graves. "I thought the husks were bad." summoning the fire-like armour she had defeated Carver with before pulling out the same weapon she was using before. She fired a few rounds into their skulls, causing them to topple, but it wasn't enough to kill them outright.

"Wait... wait... what?" The Commander shouted as she kept firing. "What's the trick here?!"

"Have you..." Bethany started, but cut off as she sent a lightning bolt a skeleton's way, causing it to burst into pieces. "Have you never seen a reanimated skeleton before?" she asked, as she fired off more bolts from her staff.

Varric was busying putting his fair share of arrows into undead as well. "You are one strange woman Serah," he stated, as he re-positioned himself on the field.

"Skeletons? No!" Shepard shouted as she ditched her weapon and opted to use her magic - biotics, throwing blue fireballs every which way that lead to rather interesting effects that fire usually didn't cause. A few of them soaring over the cliffside or floating up into the air for a few seconds before slamming down on the ground, shattering the bones. "Synthetic Human Husks? Yes!" she snarled using the fireblade on her weapon to decapitate another.

"Syn-the-thick Human Husks?" Sabrina repeated in pure confusion, as she heard the older woman speak, while cutting down her own enemies. "Just what are these words you use Shepard?" came the question, as she moved to fight back to back with her sister.

"Perhaps it's another human thing?" came the blood mage's suggestion as she ended two skeletons with a swipe of her staff.

"What's so special about my words eh?" Shepard snarled as she kicked another skeleton down before looking at a cluster of them. "Tech! Cyro Blast!" she shouted as she shot a ball of ice from her right hand, snap freezing the undead before slamming them with another ball of fire, the combined attack freezing everything in a ten metre radius.

"Andraste's tits Serah!" Varric shouted, as he shattered a frozen skeleton. "And I thought you said you weren't a mage!" a grin on his face as he downed another enemy.

Shepard chose not to say anything for the moment. She had a feeling that it was going to take time for them to understand that she was no mage; in the middle of a fight was not the ideal place to do that.

With things progressing nicely, it didn't take them long to finish off the group of skeletons.

However, the battle was not done yet when the air plummeted again.

Sabrina growled. "Great, just what we need for the icing on the cake," jumping back and getting into her fighting position as a new figure formed. "A Revenant," she stated as the large, armoured form appeared before them, shield and sword in hand.

"How about a Haste sister?" The older Hawke requested. It wasn't long before she felt the creation magic engulf her, and course through her veins.

Shepard was frozen for a few moments, watching the newcomer in awe, or so it seemed.

"Hawke! What do we do?" Merrill asked, this wasn't an ordinary Revenant. She could sense the powerful magic around it.

"Why, we kick its ass of course, and free the bound soul within," Hawke answered as she charged.

"Wait!" Shepard found herself shouting looking around for her discarded weapon. "Don't charge in like that! Stay back and kill it with bug bites!"

But Hawke was already gone. She was in front of the creature in no time, thanks to the extra speed Haste gave her; the rogue also wasted no time in landing a few hits to the creature before it had a chance to react.

She was able to get about seven in before the bound creature responded. Swinging at her with it's massive sword. The light skinned woman blocked it with her own blades, sliding back at the force he hit her with-muscles burning under the strain.

He then shoved her back, which she was more than happy to oblige with, getting right back into her offensive stance and surveying the situation. The Revenant then shoved it's sword into the ground. Using dark magic, it called forth another wave of skeletons before it's glowing gaze settled on Shepard.

Once more, using its powers, it reached out and grabbed her in an invisible hold before yanking the redhead towards itself, successfully catching the Commander off guard.

"Looks like it wants to dance with you Shepard!" Varric shouted, as he and the two mages had taken to attacking the skeletons, to keep the undead from ganging up on Shepard and Hawke.

Shepard stumbled forward before looking up at the demon, so she believed, quickly rolling out of the way to dodge the first swing of the weapon, glancing at it once. "Shit." she sounded before throwing another one of her weird fireballs at it, it stunned the Revenant for a moment, a second maybe, but judging from the odd sound the Commander made, it wasn't the effect she wanted.

Quickly she started treading backwards, pulling off her other weapon off her back and started unloading on it, each pull of the trigger making a loud noise, shooting three times before she'd eject something from it, repeating the process several times. The Commander wasn't sure if her shots were having any effect on the creature, as it didn't seem to be slowing down.

And, she certainly wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Once more, the Revenant grabbed her in an invisible hold and yanked her forward. In a way reminiscent of Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat series, except this time, she didn't have enough time to put distance between them. The creature was already coming in with it's shield to hit her.

She acted on instinct, drawing forth more power into her flaming shields above her armour. Hoping that it would have the same effect that it did when Carver attacked her earlier; unfortunately, that was not what happened.

The demon shattered through her shields as easily as Carver slicing through mercenaries. She was stunned, but she was about to be even more stunned; the forced that the Revenant hit her with was even more powerful than being hit by an orge.

Shepard found herself flying across the battlefield, blowing through several tombstones in the process, before her back hit the side of the mountain; leaving a nice sized impression of her in the side of it. She hit the ground with a thud, followed by a groan. She was fairly certain that her brain had been rattled in her skull.

"You okay there Goldie Locks?!" Varric shouted to her from his position, now facing off against the Reverent, as well as his other companions.

Whatever Shepard had done to it, had done the trick. It was weak, sloppy in it's movements, unable to keep up with the attack assaulting it's form;they weren't about to squander the opportunity to put it down once and for good.

But it took time.

The group was exhausted. Going up against Revenants was never an easy task; and then the thing had called forth two more waves of undead before it was finally put down.

"Not bad for your first time against a Revenant, Shepard," Sabrina said, patting the woman on the back. "You held up nicely, can't say the same about your armour though."

The older woman's armour was badly damaged.

"I'll get Jacob to look at it." Shepard groaned as she pulled off her helmet, letting the beaten thing bounce across the ground before it stopped rolling like a decapitated head. She wiped some blood off her forehead with the back of her hand before working on bending back parts of the armour that had been damaged and poking her the wrong way. "With a little TLC and some more paint." she looked at her beloved stripe on her right arm, frowning. "She'll be-" she stopped when her shoulder pauldron cracked and just fell on the ground. "Or... not, bloody ceramic plates; should have overclocked my shields..." she started mumbling

"I'll buy you a drink later Serah," Varric said as he adjusted his coat. "Worse things than Revenants come out at night Goldie Locks," he added, as the group made their way to the altar.

Shepard was prepared to say something back but that never happened. Soon after Merrill finished speaking her words did golden waves of energy appear over the altar. It was powerful enough for all in the group to take a step back.

When the energy calmed down, a woman clad in armour and white hair, done up in horns stood before them. Her golden eyes surveying them all. "Aaah and here we are!" The woman spoke, her voice both raspy and sultry at the same time.

"Alright. Now I've seen it all." Shepard commented dryly.

Merrill quickly bowed. "Andaran atish'an. Asha'bellnar." She greeted, as she lowered herself to the ground.

Flemeth observed her. "One of the people, I see, so young and bright. Do you know who I am, beyond that title?" She questioned, golden eyes shining.

"I know only a little," The Dalish elf admitted.

The older woman lifted an armour covered hand. "Then stand," she ordered and the elf stood "The people bend their knee too quickly."

Her attention then focused on Hawke. "So refreshing to see someone who keeps their end of a bargain. I half-expected my amulet to end up in a merchant's pocket!" she admitted.

"No one wanted to buy it. Maybe because it had a witch inside?" Sabrina suggested.

This earned her a smirk from the older woman. "Just a piece. A small piece, but it was all I needed," she said. "A bit of security, should the inevitable occur. And of I know my Morrigan, it already has."

"A witch?" Shepard voiced rather loudly. "Please tell me I'm dreaming."

Flemeth cast we gaze to the odd man out. She looked amused, as she cradled her arms against her chest. "Tell me child, why is it that you doubt you eyes?" Sounding amused even as she spoke.

"I hail from world not like this." Shepard held her hands out. Summoning Biotic Fire in her right hand and electricity around the orange fire on her left. "You call this magic, while I do not. So excuse me if it takes a moment to wrap my head around it all."

The witch let out a loud laugh, tossing her head back in the process. "Oh yes, I know that you are not from here child. Your essence is as foreign to this land, and you are to it," she remarked. "But what you possess is not magic, for yours does not come at a price." Golden eyes boring into Shepard's.

It was as of Flemeth was looking into the very depths of her soul. "Interesting," she muttered to herself. "But, you are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide, either way, one's a fool."

"Not magic?" Merrill asked, confused. "But I see magic."

"She's been insisting it isn't magic all day." Bethany pointed out. "Maybe she is right."

"I like to keep it easy for myself as well" Shepard added.

"Believed or not, some things must simply be accepted," Flemeth stated.

"Is Morrigan someone I should know?" Sabrina asked of the much older woman.

Golden eyes focused on her. "She's a girl who think she knows what is what better than I, or anyone," she said. She then let out a chuckle before inspecting her armour covered hand. "And why not? I raised her to be as she is! I cannot expect her to he less!"

The black haired rouge ponders that for a moment. "I'm not sure whether she's your daughter or your enemy," she admitted.

"Neither is she," Flemeth responded.

A nod. "Why did you need me to bring you here? Surely no one would have stopped you if you'd wanted to leave," she pointed out with an amused smirk playing on her lips.

"Because I had an appointment to keep. And because I did not need to be followed," gesturing with her hand. "You smuggled me here quite nicely."

"So, are you some type of vision?" Varric, who had even silent up until that point, questioned.

Another laugh erupted from Flemeth's throat. "Must I be in only one place? Bodies are such limiting things," she answered, as she crossed her arms. "I am but a fragment cast adrift from the whole. A bit of flotsam to cling to in the storm!"

"A fragment?" Hawke said in confusion.

The witch approached her. "You need not understand child," she assured the rouge. "Know only that you may have saved my life, just as I once saved yours. An even trade I think."

She then stepped back, returning to her original spot.

"You have plans I take it?" Sabrina inquired.

"Destiny awaits us both, dear girl," she said before casting her eyes toward Shepard. "We have much to do."

"Before I go, a word of advice," Pausing to turn around, gazing at the open space behind them. "We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss.

Watch for that moment...and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap." Turning to face Sabrina once more. "It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly."

"Cheap advice from a dragon."

"We all have our challenges."

Bethany turned towards the rest of the group and whispered, "We're going to regret bringing her here."

"Regret is something I know well," Flemeth admitted. "Take care not to cling to it, to hold it so close that it poisons your soul.

When the time comes for your regrets, remember me."

She then focused on Merrill. "As for you child, step carefully. No path is darker than when your eyes are shut," she warned.

Varric came next. "Keep him close and he will betray you. Each time worse than the last," she told him.

Lastly, her gaze fell upon Shepard once more. "You wage war against the unknown, but there is an end. What path will you choose? I can only wonder." She asked the soldier, the woman looking confused.

"Now the time has come for me to leave," the witch said as she approached Sabrina once more. "You have my thanks...and my sympathy."

Once more she turned we back to them. "Remember Hawke," speaking to the eldest as he body began to glow. "Hurtled into chaos, you fight...and the world will shake before you." Her body transforming into we dragon form before she took to the sky, leaving the group behind.

"An odd group of friends you have." Shepard said dryly. "But I don't think you hold a candle to mine." she grinned before picking it up her helmet and somehow attaching it to her belt. "Let's head down the mountain, I'm pretty sure there are questions that need answering."

* * *

A/N: This is probably when the updates are going to slow down, seeing that this chapter was nearly double the length of the last two. We're still working on the fourth chapter.

Feel free to ask any questions in 'signed' reviews, I will respond to them to the best of my abilities. If you wish to friend list me on the XBL, Origin, Steam or PSN, message me. At the moment I lean towards my 360 more but my PS3 Library is much larger.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Log... the Commanding Officer is aboard, XO Lawson stands relieved._" The ship's onboard VI spoke as Shepard came on board, looking a little worse for wear and slightly nervous. "Miranda, Jacob, I need you two," she rubbed her right shoulder.

"What the hell happened?" Joker shouted. "I haven't seen you this battered since-""

"I should have overclocked my shields." Shepard smirked. "Hindsight 20/20 they say." she nudged the pilot, who complained about his bones.

"Anyway, that group we ran into... it's gotten... complicated. I need to go change, Miranda just gather a team, mostly humans to go and talk to them, I'll be back out in a moment." with that she quickly escaped to her quarters.

Joker spoke up. "Are there hot chicks?" he wondered in his usual humor. "Because if, so I'll be apart of the meet and greet team."

"Glad to see that you're recovered Joker," Tali commented dryly, earning a grin from the pilot while Miranda sighed.

"EDI, call up Kasumi and Zaeed, we'll just stall for time until the Commander figures something out."

"And if she doesn't?" Liara spoke up, almost bitter. "She can't solve everyone's problems."

Miranda folded her arms. "Then we'll figure something else out," she responded simply, before drawing up her Omni-Tool. "There's still the issue of Eezo to address, and what that means for us if this planet has none," her words earning a frown, no, a scowl, to come onto the asari's face.

"Trouble in paradise doc?" Joker questioned, when he noticed the look. Liara sent him a cutting glance, causing all teasing he had planned to do to her, to stop before it even began. "Um...I'm going to be with the meet and greet group," he said hastily as he pulled himself from his chair and hobbled out of the ship.

He couldn't recall a time where he had seen the scientist so pissed. Boy, two years certainly did change a person.

"Are you okay friend?" Varric inquired upon seeing Joker exit the ship. He asked because of how the pilot was walking; a person only walked like that if they were injured. Joker, however, found amusement in the short little man.

"Damn, I didn't know they made them this small here." he looked down at Varric. "Unless you're a midget, then I'm sorry if I offended you."

The marksman let out a laugh. "As long as I'm not small where it counts," he quipped, earning shuddering from the two Hawke siblings. He then eyed Joker. "Which is more than I can say for you," a smirk playing on his lips.

"Maker's breath Varric!" Bethany cried as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment from what the older man was talking about.

Sabrina sighed. "I have to agree with her here," she added, as she shook her head.

Merrill just looked between them confused. "Oh...did I miss something again?" she posed the inquiry, as she tried to figure out the sister's reactions and Varric's amusement.

"I'm insulted that you have the quad to say such a thing!" Joker shouted back at the little man.

"Joker, really?" Jacob sighed as he came around from the other side of the ship.

The pilot pointed at the much shorter man; almost like a child who'd gotten accused of doing something wrong when it truth it was someone else's doing. "But...but he...!" singling out the man. Who was getting a real kick out of the human's reactions.

"And I'm insulted that you think that just because I'm a dwarf, that makes everything on me small," he quipped, fighting off the urge to fall out laughing out right.

"You're shitting me!" Joker shouted. "You're a dwarf!" he smiled. "Always drinking and telling tall tales kinda dwarf?!"

"And running people through with my special lady," Varric added with a grin on his own, earning a laugh from Sabrina.

"Oh, Varric...what will Isabela think when she learns that you're off galavanting and cohorting with another woman," the rogue teased. "Why, I'm sure she'll be positively crushed," eyes shining with mirth.

"I was expecting more maturity from the group, if Shepard returned in that state." Miranda sighed as she, Kasumi and Zaeed watched the group from afar. "Instead they are all acting like children, it's a wonder the Commander didn't end up dead."

"Hey! I resent that!" Sabrina shouted, having easily heard the jab. "There's nothing trying to kill us right now, so why should we have sticks up our asses?" she commented with a grin.

Varric looked up at her. "Couldn't have worded it better myself Hawke," he agreed with a smile on his face as well. Miranda just huffed while the Commander reappeared, adjusting the collar to her officer's jacket.

"How's the perimeter?" Shepard asked, Miranda looked at her.

"We're fine for now Commander." she said. "Garrus found a local settlement at the base of the mountain, we set up the necessary precautions should they made their way towards the Normandy." she raised her Omni-Tool and projected a rough map. "Garrus and EDI were able to piece this together, there's a major settlement not too far away. I suggest sending a recon team out that way when we get the chance."

"Sounds good." Shepard agreed.

"The camp at the base of the mountain is my clan," Merrill spoke up, earning the foreigners attention. "They won't come this way...our hunting grounds are in the opposite direction," came the information.

"And the past that is Kirkwall," Bethany added. "It's our home," she told them, the word sounding so weird on her tongue. Lothering had been their home, but it had been destroyed by the darkspawn. It would take decades for the land to return to it's once healthy state.

She felt an arm being wrapped around her and knew without having to look that it was her sister. Bethany glanced up to see the older girl looking at her in concern; she offered the rogue a smile before saying something in a language no one other than Sabrina and Merrill understood.

Sabrina graced her with a smile before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"And then, the ever caring big sister, placed a gentle kiss atop her little sister's head," Varric narrated. "Signaling that no matter how old they got, Hawke would always be there for Bethany...always there to protect her baby sister," a grin on his face.

"You do plan on going home right?" Shepard asked loudly to catch their attention. "It's almost nightfall." she was positive they didn't have flashlights of the sorts.

"She's right Hawke," Varric said, agreeing with the Commander. "We should get back tonight so we can get Daisy all settled into her new home.

Not to mention make more plans for our Deep Roads expedition," he added. "Can you image, ages worth of treasure just lying down there, untouched and just ready to be plundered."

Sabrina smirked. "Sounds like some women that I know," she remarked, still attached to her sister, not that the mage minded, as she was leaning into the older woman.

"By the way, Shep." Kasumi was seemingly ignoring the talk of treasure, a surprise that was. "Liara seemed really upset while you were gone, just what's going on between you two?"

"It's complicated." Shepard responded as she walked the length of her ship, scanning over it with her Omni-Tool, scanning for external damages, there were none. "That aside, we need to get the Normandy out of this crater, probably onto flat ground if we can." she turned to Joker. "She can still sail, right?"

The pilot hobbled his way over to her. "She can fly, but she needs serious repairs," as he put a hand on the hull. "As she is now, she won't even be able to make it out of the atmosphere," he told her.

"I don't want her breaking atmosphere until we get the Eezo situation solved." Shepard said. "I just want her out of the way of any settlements, and EDI probably wants out of this hole as well." she looked down at the wings. "We didn't leak atmosphere when we crashed, did we?"

He shook his head. "No, so that's good news at least," he responded.

"Certainly a nice change from all this bad news." Shepard looked at the family of natives. "We got lucky they're rather easy going, imagine if they were like the Turians during first contact? We'd be up shit creek without a paddle, even if they were bringing a knife to a gunfight."

Zaeed studied the group, folding his arms over his chest as he did so. "I think we'd be able to take em if things got out of hand," he voiced, as he continued his observation through his once good eye. "A quick draw of the guns and they'd be down before they even knew what happened."

"Seriously Hawke, can we not go anywhere without someone trying to kill you?" Varric asked of the tattooed female, whose only response was a sheepishly chuckle, as she scratched at the side of her head with her free hand.

"What can I say, if so many people weren't trying to kill me, then what stories would you have to tell at the Hanged Man," the black haired woman countered.

"We're not trying to kill you." Shepard said as she walked up to them. "We were just speculating our odds had you been hostile, clearly, having those ogres attack when they did proved to be useful."

"But they still know about the ship, Shepard." Miranda pointed out. "This is First Contact."

"They see everything as magic anyway." Shepard shrugged her shoulders. "It won't be a problem."

* * *

Sabrina watched the two women interact, and was while she was doing this that she finally noticed the XO. Her body tensed, and her breath got caught in her throat, as she took the time to take the woman in.

This woman...she wore an odd form of clothing, the material was so tight and taut on her, that it fit her like her skin. Dark hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back; and eyes that looked grey, or were they pale blue? Sabrina was left speechless.

Somehow, she felt highly familiar to Hawke, intimately so. Sabrina's mind was practically positive that she had seen the woman Shepard was speaking to before; it was set to run with this information, but she fought off the urge to do so; there was no need to give herself false hope. Still, she was curious and her curiosity had to be sated.

"You," the rogue spoke out, uncaring she had just interrupted their conversation. It was meaningless to her mind at the moment. She pointed at the slightly taller woman next to the redhead, so that there would be no confusion as to who she was addressing. "What is your name?"

The woman looked at Shepard once before back at Hawke, frowning slightly. "It's Operative Lawson." she leaned her weight to the side, resting a hand on her hip. "I am Commander Shepard's Executive Officer." one would have to be rather daft to miss the stern looks the two women were giving Hawke. Shepard kept the conversation going.

"How long will our stores last?" the redhead asked raising her fire gauntlet and outright ignoring Hawke.

"Six weeks." Lawson said, "Longer for Garrus and Tali." she raised her own spreadsheet. "We still have six crates of thermal clips so as long as we continue to tech and biotics to help conserve ammo while not launching any suicide missions at the same time, we should be fine." she tapped her own fire gauntlet a few times. "Liara was nice enough to hand over more Omni-Weapon data she got from her contacts, hopefully that will aid us in the long run as well."

"Understood." Shepard agreed.

Bethany looked up at her sister curiously, inquiring with her golden gaze about her sister's behaviour. Once again, she spoke in a language that those around them, excluding Merrill, drawing the older girl's attention to her.

The blood mage understood the question and let out an excited squeal; rapidly speaking in her native tongue at the sisters. Sabrina looked sheepish, casting her gaze back over to Lawson once before focusing back on the two women in her group.

Her response was in the same language as before, a light flush coming on to her cheeks as she spoke.

"Okay, what's going on?" Joker asked after a moment, his curiosity through the roof at what they were saying. "My translator isn't picking up a thing you three are saying," he informed them.

"Neither is mine." Shepard answered as she looked at the Blood Mage then to the only other native in their party. "Merrill said she was Dalish, is that what they are speaking in?" she asked, Kasumi was chuckling.

"Well it certainly isn't the elvish from Lord of the Rings." she said before looking at them. "I think."

"Hey!" Shepard called out them. "Just what are you plotting eh?"

The party leader sent her a grin. "Oh nothing you need to worry yourself with," she responded in a near sing song voice, dismissing the question. "Just having a discussion is all," she added.

The Dalish among them said something in her native tongue once more, causing Sabrina to smirk. "It sounds nice in theory but the execution might not work.

As romantic as I am, those things take time," she pointed out in the common tongue.

"So, tell me tonight over a pint and a game of Wicked Grace?" The dwarf asked of Hawke, which she agreed to with a nod.

"I'm curious Hawke, how did you come to speak my people's language?" The blood Mage asked in excitement. "I don't think I've ever encounter a Shem who even seemed interested in it, let alone two people who speak it fluently."

"What does it matter?" Zaeed groaned. "Everyone speaks a goddamn different language. Otherwise we'd get nowhere. Damn economy."

"Look." Shepard walked up to them. "Love to have you guys sit and talk, but the sun's setting and you lot should be on your merry way eh?"

The dwarf spoke before the others had a chance to. "No need to worry about us Goldie Locks," he responded. "If we're caught in the dark it wouldn't be the first time.

We'd be able to make it back home just fine," came the assurance. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with hanging out among friends...except maybe having no ale about."

Zaeed chuckled. "I'm beginning to like this fellow," he commented, earning a giggle from Kasumi.

"I agree," she said.

"Why are you ending your sentences with 'aye'?" Bethany asked curiously, golden eyes shifting to the uniformed woman.

"Eh?" Shepard sounded. "I don't understand the question."

"That word," Bethany said, pointing at her. "You keep saying it at the end of your sentences.

Why?"

Shepard seemed to think about it for a moment before realizing. "Ah, mostly at the end of my questions eh?" she caught herself that time, chuckling. "It's part of my dialect." she moved her hands in a weird way. "It's...like a... replacement word for 'Don't you think?' or to turn a simple statement into a question... like... " she paused, thinking. "The weather's nice eh?" she asked looking up at the setting sun. "It's also to make sure you're paying attention." she ran her hand through her hair. "I think...I just kinda grew up with it, it's hard to explain when you're not really aware you're saying it."

"I think...I get what you're saying," the golden eyed female said slowly. "It's so strange...it makes you sound different, compared to almost everyone else, when you say it," a light flush coming onto her cheeks in embarrassment at pointing it out.

"Alright, lets toss a monkey wrench into this right now," Joker stated, successfully interrupting the moment. "No one wants to talk about dialects and using 'eh', eh?" came the statement, as he limped his way over to Hawke.

"I'm more concerned about what you said earlier that had you three looking at Ice Queen over there," gesturing toward Lawson, who was still over by the ship.

Varric turned to Hawke. "We are so bringing Rivani with us the next time we come here," he stated, as he took in how close Joker was standing before Sabrina. "She'd have a field day with him,"giving a chuckle at the thought of Isabela having her fun with the man.

Sabrina laughed out loud at that one, as she finally removed herself from her sister. Crossing her arms over her chest, and looking up at Joker; who, even hunched over, was taller than she was, but not by much. "Why so interested?" she teased with an arched eyebrow.

"No!" Lawson was the first to cut the conversation off from going any further. "You are not to come back here!" she snapped as she marched up to them. "Already seeing us once is bad enough."

"The damage is already done." Shepard threw her arms up slightly before dropping them. "They've seen us, as far as we know they're the only local that will be willing to give us a hand." she moved to stand in front of Lawson. "We need an Eezo equivalent to get off this rock, and for all we know, they might be our only lead."

"They are not allowed on the ship!"

"I'm not letting them aboard the Normandy!" Shepard shouted back at her XO. "I already know the protocol! I'm already going to have to report this back to the brass when we get back, just imagine the shit I'm gonna get in for this eh?!"

Sabrina glanced at her companions. "Don't you just love how they're telling us what we can and can't do?" she asked of them in mock amazement. "I had no idea I was at the point in my life where I couldn't make my own decisions."

"Shems are always so controlling," Merrill spoke up. "It's one of the reasons why my people aren't welcome within the cities. We don't act like the city elves and that makes them nervous."

The beardless dwarf looked at the elf with amusement. "Oh Daisy..." he sighed out the nickname, before a chuckle erupted from him.

"What? Did I miss something again?"

"No, no...you actually got that statement right on the money," he assured her. "Except that Shems aren't the only controlling ones...they just happen to be the most direct, and obvious in their methods."

The rogue of their group smirked. "Luckily, the dwarfs are so short that they're controlling methods go unnoticed," she joked, before focusing her sea green eyes back on Shepard and Lawson.

The two women looked like they were ready to come to blows...and Hawke really couldn't understand why. Their stances reminded her of the arguments she got into with her brother.

"You know why humans are seen as bullies of the galaxy?" Kasumi asked as she appeared in the group, decloaking, surprising them. "It's because we're so short lived, we don't have the luxuries of time to sit around and ponder like the other races. So we go out there, and we do it, we've accomplished more in a century than what some races have done in thousands of years."

A confused pair of forest green eyes settled on the thief. "Gale-x-sea?" she parroted the word, struggling to pronounce it the way she'd heard Kasumi do so. "What is that? And, you mean to tell me that there are other races besides Qunari, Dwarves, and Humans where you hail from?"

"Maker a thousand years!" Bethany breathed out. "That's such a long time," she voiced.

The storyteller faced Kasumi. "Somehow Shadow, I don't think dying has anything to do with it," he pointed out, drawing Merrill's attention.

"Oh? You don't think so?" the Dalish girl questioned. "It seems to make sense to me. My people may no longer be immortal, but we don't seem to be in the same rush as shems."

"My dear Daisy, conflict has everything to do with opinions and perspectives," he informed her. "That's where the bullying, as Shadow here said, comes into play.

Think of opinions like testicles. Kick them hard enough, and it won't matter how many you've got."

"Kick 'em in the quad." Kasumi grinned. "Never gets old, but a for the races you just named to me." she turned to look at them. "There are only humans. elves and dwarves are only found on fairy tales, and I've never heard of this... "Gunari"? she made the quotation marks with her fingers.

"Qunari," Sabrina corrected, joining in on the conversation, having lost interest at watching Shepard and Lawson argue back and forth. Both women's voices were changing; their dialects becoming more pronounced as they continued on. "They're a horned race that inhabit the northern part of Thedas, however, its also a term that can be applied to any who adhere to the Qun.

They're a conquering people," she added with a shrug.

"Yup, we don't have them." Kasumi shrugged. "Got a bunch of other cool races though." she didn't continue, Lawson having given up the fight and storming off while Shepard stood there fuming before walking over to Hawke.

"Damnit." she muttered. "I swear she's just here to make my life miserable." she rubbed her forehead slightly before dragging her hand down slightly. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"It really was only a matter of time." Kasumi quipped. "At least you didn't tear the place apart."

"Bonus." Shepard muttered dryly before turning to Hawke. "I need to move the Normandy, it won't be happening tonight, but it needs to be done sooner than later so we can get started on repairs." she looked back at her ship. "I was wondering if you know of a good clearing, away from any populated areas."

Sabrina shifted her attention to Merrill. "Merrill?" she inquired of the elf, because the younger woman would know the area better than the rogue would.

The mage in question looked shyly down at the ground. "Um...there is a clearing, not too far from here," she voiced. "I stumbled across it by accident. It's a little deeper into the mountain, but it's isolated.

My people never venture there so it should be perfect for you and your Normandy," Merrill finished.

Hawke then focused back on Shepard. "Well, there you go, a place for..." she cut herself off as her stomach growled loudly. Though, it was less of a growl and more of a roar; she let out a sheepish laugh before placing her hand on her stomach. "I'm hungry," she announced, not that it was needed after that noise.

"You're always hungry," Bethany sighed. Between Sabrina and Carver, the youngest Hawke didn't know who had the bigger appetite; those two ate like hungry hounds, and would turn around and be hungry barely two hours later.

Less than that if they were doing a lot of fighting, which was often. "You and Carver, drive uncle Gamlen up the wall," she pointed out before looking amused. "He blames our father for that you know," choosing not to say more, knowing that her sister would know what she was referring to.

"He should be lucky we don't have a taste for birds," Sabrina replied before another snarl from her stomach stopped any further jokes.

"I dare say Hawke, that's a sound that could rival an ogre's roar," Varric commented good naturedly, causing her to flush. Shepard shook her head.

"Look, I'd love to have you all stay and eat, but don't have the supplies to share." she said. "That's even assuming you..." she paused. "No... nevermind, trying to explain that would just waste time." she crossed her arms. "Go home, we'll still be here in the morning."

Sabrina nodded. "I agree...I need food...and lots of it," she said. "It was nice meeting you Serah," came the additional comment as the rest of her companions agreed.

"We'll swing by tomorrow Shepard," Varric said as they group turned and began heading down the mountain.

* * *

"So..." Varric began as they made their way down the darkening mountain path. It would be pitch black soon, not that he was worried about seeing, they were all able to see just fine in the dark. Some just better than others. "Did all that really just happen? Or is all of this a dream and I'm just passed out on the floor of the Hanged Man?" he posed the question to the entire group, now that the reality of the day was sinking in.

"It is unbelievable." Bethany responded. "Shepard is..." she turned around so she was walking backwards to face Varric. "Different, you know when she used that magic? Her ice spell? Couldn't sense the Fade."

"Couldn't feel it either," Merrill added in. "And, she doesn't have a staff...though she did have some very strange looking weapons," the elf pointed out. "I've never seen anything like them. Your crossbow reminds me a little of her weapons, with how she carried them but...Creators, she and her companions are the strangest shems I have ever met."

Varric let out an amused chuckle. "You might not want to go around calling the humans 'shems' Daisy. They take offense to it," he commented. "Even though I fully agree with you. I mean, not only did they come out of the star metal, but all the things she and Shadow were saying...sounds taller than any of the tales I've ever told."

"But they way they said them. "Gal-axe-see? Was it? They said it as if they were the most casual things!" Bethany exclaimed. "We saw their ship fall from the sky!"

"You think they are Sky People? I didn't know people could live in the sky, I wonder if the clouds are as soft as they look." Merrill started to ramble.

They decided to let her ramble, especially, given what they encountered and experienced today Merrill's ramblings could hold truth to them. Varric then shifted his attention to their party leader, who was unusually quiet; a rarity for the eldest Hawke. "What do you think about all of this Hawke?" the only male of the group asked of Sabrina.

But, she didn't respond. She wasn't even aware that Varric had just asked her a question; Sabrina's mind was occupied with other things.

He trotted to catch up with her, falling into step beside her. "Hawke?" he called again, looking up at her. "Hawke? Hawke!" he shouted, finally getting through to her.

The tattooed female look surprised, as she cast a glance his way. "What? Oh, sorry Varric," she apologized. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying." Varric sighed, annoyed, it was a first with Hawke. "What do you think about all of this? These... Sky People, and Shepard's so called 'Not-Magics?"

She was silent a few moments, gathering her thoughts. "In all honesty, I can't say I know how to feel," she admitted truthfully. "On one hand, all of this just feels like a dream and I'm half expecting to wake up, lying half way off my bed, Varric nodding to show that he could understand that, and for her to continue.

"Yet, on the other hand, I'm willing to completely accept that they did come from beyond the sky," she continued. "And, that they are real...I want them to be real..." whispering the last part, as she brought her thumb up to her lip and began to lightly bite the nail with her teeth.

She wasn't biting her nails off-that was Carver's habit, and she found it gross.

The blonde observed her for a few moments. "I get the feeling that Shepard is second on your mind," he said. "Thinking of someone else?"

"Lawson." Bethany sung. "Stood out just as much as Shepard when she spoke."

"Yeah...I noticed that. You interrupted her conversation with Goldie Locks just to ask her name," Varric recalled, as he looked at his fellow rogue.

Sabrina continued to fiddle with her nail, using her teeth. "I...she looked familiar...like I've seen her somewhere," she responded. "I wanted...needed to know her name."

"Wasn't much of a name." Merrill piped up. "Operative Lawson... who names their daughter Operative? Now that I think about it... Shepard called herself Commander... is that her first name?" she asked. "Sounds awful close to a title than a name."

"It was a title Daisy," Varric commented, as he glanced over his shoulder to speak to the mage; both of whom were walking behind them.

Bethany looked confused. "But...Commander of what?" she wondered aloud. "She doesn't have a proper title. I know that our cousin is the Warden-Commander and Meredith is the Knight-Commander...it tells me that one is in the Wardens and the other with the Order, but she's just Commander."

The marksman gave a shrug. "Maybe you can ask her when we go back," he said. "We are going back aren't we Hawke?"

Sabrina sighed. "Maybe," was her mixed response, a first since she and the dwarf had met. In the short amount of time that they've known one another. She then brought her hand up to her head. "For now, let's just inform the Keeper that the task was done, and that Merrill will be coming with us.

We'll sleep on everything else and make decisions from there, okay?" she asked, to which the others in the group agreed to in unison. Food and sleep would definitely help put things in perspective, and help in deciding where they wanted to go with this.

"Ancestors Hawke...you story will make for a hell of a tale one day."


	5. Chapter 5

"It's not that bad." Garrus said as he looked over the Normandy's specs with his Omni-Tool. "Mostly superficial, she'll fly again just fine with some field repairs, but I'd suggest dry docking her once we get back home. Just to be safe."

"It might have to wait until after we're done with the Shadow Broker." Shepard responded as she pushed some of the dirt out of the Normandy's thrusters. "Liara's restless, you'd think for someone who is...was... an archaeologist and is an asari, she'd be more patient."

"She is only a hundred and eight Shepard." Garrus chuckled. "Still a maiden, they're known to be restless, being confined to the Normandy probably doesn't help much when you did promise to get Feron back."

"That's on the Illusive Man, not me." Shepard snapped. "Course now by the time we fucking get there he might be dead." she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Damn, if she doesn't hate me now, she will then."

Garrus moved his Omni-Tool over another portion of the ship. Looking at the data as it came up on screen. "Oh, I doubt she hates you Shepard," he commented, as he typed some information in. "Angry? Yes. Hurt? Possibly. But hating you...as much as she's changed, I don't think she'd ever be able to hate you."

"I want to talk to her." Shepard admitted. "But she doesn't want to talk to me." she bit her lower lip. "I feel like I betrayed her without meaning too."

"I think it's less she blames you, and more that she blames herself," the Turian remarked. "You two were close back then...she probably blames herself for not staying on board and helping you.

Maybe she feels that she could have prevented you from being spaced had she been there to help you with Joker," he offered up, mandibles twitching as he focused on the data.

"You think I should talk to her about that?" She asked the Turian. "In the end, me being spaced just ended up on bad timing...or maybe good. If they attacked just seconds earlier, both Joker and I would be dead, if it was moments later, we both would have made it." she paused. "I wouldn't want to subject her to those odds, not then... not now."

Garrus paused in his data entry. "Shepard, regardless of when you died...they still would have brought you back," he stated. "I think you putting yourself in harms way is what's eating her inside.

But, you should talk to her about it," resuming his work. "You don't need both Liara and Miranda upset at you. They make passing through the Omega-4 Relay and taking on the Collectors seem infinitely less dangerous."

Shepard smiled at that. "Yeah, I'll talk to her later, once we're done here." she looked down the hull of the Normandy, where the Cerberus Crewmen were at work, mostly trying to dig her back out, they hadn't tried moving her, dirt was still everywhere and they didn't want to risk any more damages a dirty exhaustion port might cause. "Anyway." she chuckled to herself. "Do you think we scared off Hawke's group here eh?"

"It's possible," the former C-Sec officer supplied. "Operative Lawson seem particularly vicious, especially towards Hawke. Wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

She's a cold bitch Shepard," he added, stopping to look at the redhead. "Hell, space is warmer than she is, and space is freezing cold."

"I wouldn't say she's colder than space." Shepard smirked. "Maybe colder than Iqaluit in the middle of winter, but not space." she laughed at her own joke. "It's probably for the better, if they see this ship fly, it might just be the end of us."

He let out a small laugh. "Please, Jack is warmer than Miranda," he countered, mandibles twitching as he spoke. "You think if we were to put the XO near the sun, she would freeze it with her frigidness?" he joked.

"Iqaluit is pretty damned cold Garrus, but humans can live there without an envirosuit." Shepard crossed her arms. "But we better watch ourselves, everything we say or do is probably tapped. So we should watch ourselves."

"Like she isn't aware that the entire crew calls her a bitch behind her back," he mumbled, while choosing to concede to Shepard's point.

The two continued working on for the next half hour. During that time, they made small talk, which Shepard was grateful for; she was glad that Garrus hadn't changed much over the past two years. The redhead needed a constant in her life-excluding the high probability of her dying again.

"Well, you certainly look like you're having fun," a voice commented from behind them.

"I'll be damned, you and Varric weren't telling tall tales after all," a skimpily dressed woman breathed out in surprise as she observed the massive ship with awe.

The familiar chuckle of Varric's filled the air. "I told you Rivani, that means you lose our bet," he said. "I expect you to pay up when we get back to the Hanged Man."

"Didn't think you were coming back." Shepard turned around to face the group. "We're just trying to get everything cleaned up, so we can move her." she smiled at the Normandy. "Even after all these years, dirt can still cause things to backfire."

"New friends Commander?" Garrus asked as he kept working on clearing out the thruster. "Or are these the natives all you humans have been talking about while we were all locked up on the ship?" Shepard chuckled, unaware said natives couldn't understand him or currently see him.

"They are." Shepard answered. "Sabrina, Bethany, Varric and..." she stopped at the newcomer. "Don't know you."

"Captain Isabela," the dark skinned woman introduced herself, giving a mock bow; similar to Sabrina's method of introduction the other day. "Though, without my ship, that title rings a bit hollow," she woman amended. "So, it's simply Isabela."

"Though, in Aveline's case it's slattern or whore or even wench," Sabrina joked with a smile on her face, as the pirate stood next to her.

Varric spoke up. "Or in my case Rivani," he added in while looking up at the dark skinned rogue.

Isabela let out an amused chuckle, before focusing her golden gaze on Hawke. "How come you don't have a special name for me Hawke?" she asked, her voice taking on a seductive tone, as she leaned against her fellow rogue; hand coming to fiddle with the belts on Sabrina's chest armour.

The sea green eyed woman was highly amused. "What? And deprive you of hearing your name roll from my lips?" she countered as her eyes seemed to shine as she played along. "Isabela..." drawing the name out as she spoke, putting emphasis on all the right syllables.

Shepard just cleared her throat loudly, regaining the woman's attention before holding her hand out."Commander Shepard." she introduced herself. "Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

"Never heard of it," Isabela stated, as she reached out and grasped the woman around the forearm, in the traditional method of greeting among people; her action surprised the redhead. Her gaze then went to the ship behind the Commander. "So this whole thing is made of star metal?" she asked aloud before whistling. "Can you image the coin stripping this thing could make us?

"We'd have enough to rival every noble in Orlasis!"

"Yeah... you're not doing that." Shepard looked at her rather flatly. "My ship, my rules."

Isabela was set to respond when Garrus stood up finally, clapping the dirt off his hands. "Sorry about that Commander." he said. "But we should be good to go now."

Immediately, the pirate flipped back, drawing her blades in the process-her companions doing the same-before she charged the Turian. He let out a noise and quickly moved to dodge the blade coming at his head; having to then maneuver himself to avoid Sabrina's blades next.

"Hey! Hey!" Garrus straightened back up after nearly bending over backwards."What did I?" he jumped back to dodge again. "I'm on your side! Shepard!" he looked at his Commander. "Stop them Shepard!" He was not happy that the woman was smirking at him but she was reaching for the gun at her side.

"It talks?" Bethany asked in surprise, as she prepared to cast a spell; waiting for the right moment to unleash it. But Garrus was still shouting Shepard's name.

"Managing to say one word doesn't count as talking Sunshine," Varric said, as he took aim with his crossbow. He fired and Garrus luckily managed to avoid the arrow. "Limber little blighter isn't it?"

"Talking or not, the damn darkspawn dies!" Sabrina shouted, as she disappeared and then reappeared behind Garrus...

Isabela was smirking. "Besides, we kill it, we get it's stuff!" she announced as she twirled her blades, while eyeing the creature. She'd never met a darkspawn that ran from a fight before, it was unusual she'd admit.

With four quick shots from Shepard's Predator Pistol the blade wielding rogues found themselves disarmed while Varric and Bethany found themselves at the wrong end of Shepard's Omni-Tool. The fog from the prepped Cyro Blast falling heavily onto the ground and pooling around the Commander's feet.

"Stand down, all of you." she snarled while her crewmen that were outdoors had surrounded them, assault rifles all lined up at the group. "Garrus is with us."

Garrus let out a breath of relief as he was finally able to stop running. He made sure to put distance between himself and the two women who'd given chase. "Thanks Shepard," he said to her, mandibles twitching.

His speaking only causing Hawke's group to tense further.

"Are you sure you're feeling we'll Goldie Locks?" Varric asked her. "Because I know I couldn't have just heard you say that this darkspawn is apart of your crew."

"The Chantry accepting the mages seems more believable," Isabela voiced, as she remanded in her fighting stance.

'Everything okay out there Shepard?' Tali's voice came out over her Omni-Tool. 'We heard gunfire.' Shepard sighed.

"Just a minor misunderstanding. I have enough firepower here, we're fine Tali." Shepard said before lowering her tool. "Garrus is a Turian. One of the four Council Races."

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so." Garrus quipped, Shepard shook her head.

"They don't understand you." Shepard told him. "Pity the 'Trade Tongue' isn't English."

He nodded in agreement. "What are these darkspawn anyway?" He asked receiving no answer. "Right, they can't understand me.' he sighed out.

"All I know, is that they are the homicidal bad guys." Shepard sighed. "Why can't we land on a planet where everything isn't trying to kill us?"

"Because you are Commander Shepard." Garrus responded. "Wouldn't be an adventure without a few things trying to kill you.

Though they're trying to kill me, and not you this time," he pointed out with a chuckle.

Sabrina studied the not darkspawn closely. "So...it? He?...isn't a darkspawn?" She questioned curiously, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "But...it...he...growls and sounds like something's in its throat."

"Like I said. Garrus is a Turian." Shepard said. "I have several different races aboard my ship, whom you will not be meeting today." she put her gun away and waved off her men. "What you are hearing is not your language, but his. I..." she smirked. "Just so happen to be able to understand it."

"Shepard." Garrus sighed.

"Go back to the ship. Let Lawson know that we probably need to prep a shore party for Kirkwall as well." Shepard told him. Garrus nodded and walked away. Shepard watched him leave before looking back at Hawke's party, signalling them to follow her. "We were just preparing to move the Normandy before you came."

Sabrina rubbed at the back if her head. "Sorry about that then," he apologized looking rather sheepish. "He looked so much like a darkspawn...it's just habit to react first," she informed the older woman.

"I'll buy him a drink so that they'll be no hard feelings between us," Varric announced. "Though I suggest you keep him far, far away from Kirkwall. The Templars would be in an uproar if they saw him," he added.

The rest of his companions nodded in agreement. "We might want to keep him away from Anders too," Sabrina added.

"I'll keep that in mind." Shepard said. "Lawson has a strict 'humans only' policy right now mostly because we make up most of the ship's crew." she explained. "We just got lucky of you ask me."

'Everything is green Commander.' EDI's voice chimed through her Omni-Tool. 'Awaiting your signal.'

"What's that?" Bethany inquired as the voice originated from seemingly nowhere.

"Forget the voice for a moment," Isabela spoke up, before focusing her attention back on the ship. "Now, I know ships, and what I know is that they cannot move on land. So how exactly do you plan on moving this massively heavy thing?" The pirate questioned the Commander.

Shepard gave her a flat look. "I'm going to go off on a limb here and assume ships are still waterbound here, eh?:

"No, they're all made of star metal and can crawl onto land like a crab," Isabela responded, before tossing her hands in the air. "Of course ships are waterbound! How else would pirates exist?"

'Space Pirates!' Joker shouted from Shepard's Omni-Tool. The Commander sighed at her pilot. 'Hear we got a new person to meet.' Joker said. 'And its a woman at that. I'll be out soon to... you know...meet and greet.'

"No you won't." Shepard snapped at her Omni-Tool. "We're moving the Normandy first, then you can play womanizer!"

'But I'm already out of my seat Commander!' he responded. 'You know how much of a challenge that is to do with my condition!'

Shepard sighed in defeat. "Fine...whatever." she tugged on the collar of her jacket. "I need to go suit up anyway. Keep them entertained."

'Oh...I know how to keep women entertained.' he remarked suggestively.

It wasn't long before he was hobbling out of the ship and heading over to the group. He stood next to the redhead while eyeing the group; the new member in particular.

"You certainly know how to attract the best kind of attention," he told Shepard.

Varric chuckled, before focusing on their pirate. "Look at that Rivani, they've got a member of their party that's as big of a flirt as you are," he teased her.

The dark skinned woman eyed the pilot. Her companions knew a tease was inevitable.

"Hmmm...strong hands. Could I entice you to leave your order and sign up as one of my crewmen? I could use those strong hands at my... helm." Eyes roaming Joker as she spoke.

He gulped, having never run into a woman like the pirate before him. "Well...ahem, I do know quite a bit about flying," he responded.

Isabela smirked, as she sauntered up to him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders.. "She is quite the good teacher isn't she?" she posed the question. "She will guide you with her sighs...her shudders, her gentle swaying as she rides the crests of the waves."

Joker's brain overloaded with that. He simply stood there, frozen to the spot, surprisingly at a loss for words; his nose started to bleed. Satisfied from his state, she removed her step, making sure to add extra movement in her hips, as she went to stand back over at her companions sides.

Sabrina chuckled. "Ever the tease aren't you Isabela?" she quipped, highly amused at the man's lack of response.

"If you do decide to ditch me Joker." Shepard was walking backwards. "I keep the Normandy and her leather seats." she spun in the ball of her foot and walked away.

Joker's mind was too frazzled to respond.

"Pants feeling a tight there Helmsman?" Varric teased the bearded man before focusing on the pirate. "Another one's fallen into your web Rivani."

Isabela laughed loudly while Engineer Daniels walked up to the helmsman. "Okay Joker." Gabby spoke. "You've been beat by a woman who would probably break your bones faster than EDI could."

"I promise to be gentle," Isabela cooed while eyeing the pilot.

Sabrina laughed loudly at that. "Isabela, stop teasing the poor man," she chided without weight. "You'll kill him."

Joker chuckled weakly. "Awe man, the Commander is going to kill me."

"Actually." Bethany pushed forward. "There is a question we wanted to ask." she looked at her sister. "About the Commander."

"Oh? Shoot?" Joker said focusing on the younger Hawke.

"Yes... shoot it deep inside her," Isabela moaned out, earning flushes from both the pilot and Mage.

"Isabella, can you stop for just one moment?" Bethany snapped before looking at Joker. "We know Commander Shepard is...well a Commander... but to what order?"

He looked confused. "What do you mean?" He countered. "She's the Commander of the Normandy," he pointed out.

Bethany shook her head showing that wasn't what she was asking. "What my sister is asking is why does she not say her full title," Sabrina explained. "We have a Warden-Commander, who is the Commander if the Grey Wardens, and a Knight-Commander, who is the Commander of the Templars here.

But Shepard is the Commander of..."

"It is just Commander Shepard." Shepard cut Sabrina off as she walked across the field. Wearing different armour than the day before. Joker recognized it as the military grade Edmonton Blood Dragons' armour.

"But who are you a Commander for?" Sabrina asked, as she focused on the red head.

"It's just a title. Why do you care?" Shepard crossed her arms.

"People will want to know Goldie Locks," the dwarf commented, inserting himself into the conversation. "You go around calling yourself Commander, people will want to know where you fall so they know how to approach you."

Shepard leaned her weight back as she looked at Joker. "You are treating my title as if it outranks a Captain or Admiral. I am neither of those."

"We aren't really ones for titles in this group Serah," Varric pointed out. "Just look at Captain Isabela here," gesturing at the pirate with a laugh.

Sabrina smirked. "Merrill is under the impression that your name is Commander Shepard, and your seconds name is Operative Lawson," she informed the older woman.

Shepard laughed. "Shepard is just fine if it makes you that uncomfortable. Eh? Flight Lieutenant." she nudged Joker lightly. "Get back on the ship. We need to move her so we can finally get the bay doors open."

"Aye aye, Commander." Joker muttered before limping off.

"So, you never did answer my question as to how you're going to move this massive thing," Isabela reminded as he touched one of the panels with her hand. Noticing how cool and smooth the metal was beneath her fingertips.

"Well you have two options." Shepard laid out. "I show you and you vow to keep it as a secret, or I show you, you tell everyone, and I get Doctor T'Soni to flay you alive. With her mind."

"As if anyone would believe me," the pirate countered. "I have many gifts but making a convincing story, that's Varric's stomping ground, not mine."

Shepard nodded before looking at the dwarf. "I can't promise to keep quiet about it," he said. "But I can promise to tell it in a way that no one will believe me and think I'm just jerking them around. I'd have to be a drooling idiot to not include this in Hawke's tale," he stated seriously.

"Varric, this is serious business. My people shouldn't even be here. So if you're going to tell a tale about us." she pointed her Omni-Blade at him. "Better be a goddamned tall one."

"You offend me Serah," he responded taking offence to her words. "I tell ye best damn stories there are to hell in this city and have no problems with proving it to you."

"Che." she pulled her arm back, blade disappearing before pressing her ear piece. "Joker. You're clear to launch." she said. "I repeat. Clear to launch."

'Roger that Commander.' he responded as the ship's engines came to life. 'And so you know, your XO is on a warpath. She isn't liking what you're showing the natives'

"When does she ever?" Shepard sighed stretching out her right shoulder. "Between her and T'Soni. I swear." she shook her head. Unaware the of the affect the growing hum of the engines were having on the natives. "I've already threatened them. If that doesn't keep them quiet." she chuckled darkly. "I'll sick Grunt and a pissed off T'Soni on them."

"By the ancestors!" Varric complained as he drew his hands over his ears; stepping back a couple steps. "What in the name of the Paragons is that painful noise?!" He demanded, having to shout now.

The others of the group had done the same. Grimaces adoring their faces from how loudly they heard the engines roar.

It only got louder from there as Shepard moved backwards forcing the others to follow as she watched the Normandy's wings started to move, pushing the dirt around even more.

"Come on. You can do it girl!" Shepard growled. "I want at least one piece of good news damnit!"

The group wasted no time in following her. Wanting desperately to get away from the loud sound; they be surprised if their ears weren't bleeding from this.

'I'm trying Commander.' Joker's voice chimed into her ear. 'With the lack of Eezo, the system is thrown outta whack, we're trying to compensate.' The Normandy whined for a little bit longer before she started to move, slowly floating out of the crater. Shepard had never thought that the lack of Eezo in the drive core would cause this many problems just to get it to move.

"Take it slow Joker."

"Not a word Isabela!" Sabrina shouted at the pirate, when she noticed the woman had prepared to make a comment.

The older woman simply smirked in Hawke's direction.

'EDI's got it, but we can't punch it." Joker said, as he got her up. 'Now where am I supposed to be taking her?'

"Take her about forty kilometres northwest." Shepard said over the comm. "I'm going to go ahead to Kirkwall with the others in the meantime. Once landed have Lawson organize a team and take the Hammerhead out."

'Roger that Commander.' Joker responded before flying the ship away.

"I'll be a nugs one legged uncle," Varric commented, as he removed his hands from his ears now that the roar of the engines was no longer filling his ears. "A ship that doesn't sail but fly.

I don't even think I believe my own eyes," he added.

"Oh! You must tell me where you got a ship that can do that!" Isabela announced. "If I could get my hands on a ship like that...I'd be the most infamous pirate in the history of Thedas!"

"There were a lot of strings attached when I got the Normandy." Shepard looked at her. "Trust me, you don't want it."

"Varric, no matter how many tales you tell, no one will believe you." Bethany spoke.

"Oh, I want it..." Isabela trailed off as the gears inside her head started turning.

Sabrina chuckled. "Better watch yourself Shepard," she warned. "When Isabela sees something she likes she doesn't let it escape. You might wake up to find her inside your ship," she remarked, amused at the thought.

"She'll have a tough time getting in." Shepard sighed as she looked at them. "So, you sampled part of my world, I think it's fair you do the same for me."

"You put up the coin to get us a room at the Blooming Rose and I wouldn't mind giving you a personal tour," The pirate said seductively as she eyed the Commander.

"Isabela!" Sabrina sighed the name. The woman could be too much sometimes. "That seems fair. I can show you around the city," came the offer to which Shepard nodded.

"I'll tag along for a bit, but I'll head to the Hanged Man when we get there," Varric stated. "I need myself a drink or ten."

Shepard agreed. "My squad will be following later, once they got the Normandy properly docked."

* * *

"Mother, we've returned," Sabrina announced, as she, her sister, and Shepard entered into the house.

Varric and Isabela had broken off and decided to head to the Hanged Man. Varric was ready to tell the story even if it killed him.

Immediately, upon entering the door, she was attacked by a giant dog. He pinned her to the ground; massive paws keeping her down as he barked excitedly down at her.

The hound then began attacking her face with kisses, earning and affectionate laugh from Sabrina.

"Yes, yes...I'm happy to see you too," the rogue stated in between licks.

Shepard edged her way around the dog and took a look around, it wasn't much to be called home, that was for sure.

"You brought her home?!" it was Carver that came first. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking about being a good host," the eldest Hawke sibling responded, as she pushed her dog away. "She wanted to come and see the city. I see no harm in that," she added as she picked herself up off the ground.

"She's a mage and she stands out! You'll lead the Templars right to us!" Carver snapped.

"Maker's Breath. Who did you pick up this time." Gamlen snarled when he and their mother came out of the back room. "You have to stop picking up people off the streets!"

"Uhh, If you want to talk like I'm not here, I can just leave." Shepard pointed at the door. "You know...so the weird Canadian doesn't stand out more than she already is...eh?" she edged towards the door. "No.. no...I should go."

Sabrina put an arm on her shoulder to stop her.

"I suppose I just just be like you and pick them up in the Blooming Rose?" Sabrina countered with her usual sarcastic charm, as she pushes Sabris off her to sit-up. "Since some of us aren't talented enough to get a companion without coin playing a role."

Gamlen scowled. "Troublesome brat. Just like your father," he spat before turning and marching back into the back room. Grumbling as he went.

She then focused on her brother. "And, in case you've forgotten, she saved your life the other day," she snapped at her brother, baring her teeth at him.

"Look...clearly this is a family matter... I'll just wait outside..."

"You still shouldn't have brought her here!" Carver snapped. "If you were looking out for Bethany like the way you say you are you'd keep mages out of our home!"

Sabrina snarled at her brother, quickly approaching him and getting in his face. "Don't you dare say I'm not looking out for Bethany!" She roared, lips tugged back in a vicious snarl. "And I suppose you think you can do better? That you're ready to make decisions?!"

Carver stared down at her for a moment before pushing past them and out the door, taking the moment to slam the door.

"You should do something about your son mother," Sabrina said as she stood straight. Looking at the door Carver had walked through as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Leave him." Shepard said. "I've seen this before. Give them space for a while, he'll come back."

"Sabrina, I have already tried talking to him." Leandra sighed. "He's just set in his ways."

"I'm not worried about where he went," the rogue said, dismissing Shepard's assumption. "He's always been a tit...but being around uncle Gamlen is making it worse."

She then turned to her mother. "Enough about that rowdy son of yours," she joked, her usual demeanour returning. "Introductions are in order."

Shepard nodded as she rested her arms behind her back. "Commander Shepard."

Leandra simply cast a glance at her daughters. "It's a long story mother," Bethany commented. "Why don't we go into the bedroom and I'll explain everything to you."

"Guess that just leaves us," Sabrina said, watching them go. Sabris barked, causing her to grin. "That includes you too boy," she cooed as she rapidly rubbed his muzzle.

"So, what shall the first order of business be?" Sabrina asked of her guest.

"Really, I just need to get off world." Shepard said. "I need to find an Element Zero equivalent."

Sabrina have her a curious look. "Element...zero?" She parroted.

"It's dark matter." Shepard said. "We use it to upgrade our powers." she summoned her biotics for show. "I also need it to get back home."

"I...have never heard of that before," she confessed after a few moments of silence.

Shepard exhaled slowly. "I don't have the time to wait around." she paced around in a circle. "Do you know another else who might know?" she asked. "Chances are it might go by another name."

Hawke shook her head. "Unfortunately I do not," she confessed, shooting the woman a sympathetic look. "Um...I could introduce you to the rest of my companions?" she offered, before casting her gaze toward the back room.

"Carver certainly won't do it, and Bethany will have her hands full explaining this entire situation to mother," bridge her hand up to rub at the bridge of her nose. "Also...I apologize for my brother's behaviour.

He's normally not so intolerable...right off the bat anyway. I can't really blame him for being cautious, but I can certainly blame him for his delivery. "Your...non-magic will be perceived as magic, no matter how much you say it isn't," she explained. "My world is filled with magic and demons, as well as not necessarily close minded, but fearful people.

I have seen how they react to change and many do not like it. I suppose on one hand, that can be blamed on the Chantry and their belief magic is dangerous. But, on the other hand, the blame can equally fall to those who abuse their gift," being highly insightful as she spoke, as opposed to her usual nature.

Sabrina let out a sigh before continuing. "I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that while Carver is particularly hostile toward you, he won't mention your presence or try to turn you over to the Templars," she informed the taller woman. "My brother means well but...he just doesn't know how to express it outside of yelling and screaming," rubbing the back of her head and looking rather sheepish about it.

"That's fine, it's not surprising." Shepard said. "There is always that one odd man out." she crossed her arms. "Is there anyone important that I should know about?"

The sea green eyed female nodded. "Like I said, there are the rest of my companions, those you've yet to be introduced to," Sabrina reminded, before the dog nudged her legs. She chuckled. "Alright, I can take a hint.

This is Sabris. My Mabari War Hound," introducing the massive beast to the Commander, who was wagging his tail in happiness as he observed the newcomer.

"I haven't seen this particular breed before." Shepard knelt down before the dog. "Not that I am well versed in canine breeds. We... don't really use animals for war."

The moment she knelt down, Sabris attacked her. Pouncing her and pinning her to the ground while he attacked her; his attack being slobbery licks and excited barks.

Sabrina watched in amusement at the Commander's plight. "They are a breed of dog, magically bred by the Formari," she explained to the older woman. "Fierce combatants and highly sociable creatures, not to mention highly intelligent."

"Oh, so he's a cross breed!" Shepard pushed him off. "That makes much more sense." she looked at him. "Generations of cross..." she stopped herself as she looked up at Hawke. "Too much?"

"Uh...yeah," Hawke agreed. "No other dogs come close to Mabari in terms of size, strength, or intelligence. It's probably where the Formari and magic come into play.

Many consider owning a Mabari to be a form of social status," she added in as Shepard stood up, brushing off her armour and checking to see if her weapons were still there, Hawke watched as she pulled off the small thing she had hanging in her side as it changed shape in her hand as she looked it over. Shepard seemed to agree with herself as she placed it back on her belt, it changing back to it's rectangle form.

"We can certainly write a book about our differences eh?" Shepard smirked.

The rogue did the same. "I'm not much for writing books as I am to reading them," she pointed out. "Though, since meeting Varric my normal amount of reading has gone down...his stories beat books any day.

So, shall we be off then?" she asked of the Commander, causing Sabris to bark. "Yes, you can come too," Sabrina informed her four legged companion, causing him to wag his tail out of happiness. Shepard was set to agree but the back of her hand started to glow with her weird fire-thing.

"Commander." It was Joker's voice. "We got everything set down, but the bay doors were damaged in the crash, we can't get the Hammerhead out until we've fixed them... Doctor T'Soni, surprisingly, was requesting we send out a ground team anyway."

"I'll be fine on my own Joker." Shepard responded. "Shepard out." she killed her magic. "Is Bethany going to come as well?" she asked, without missing a beat.

Sabrina shook her head. "Nah. Like I said, she'll have her hands full explaining it to mother and defending you and your companions against Gamlen's accusations," she responded, before heading toward the door.

Shepard and Sabris trailing behind her.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you," Sabrina began as she led them towards Darktown. Anders wasn't far from them, so she figured it best to start with him. "That, fire thing that appears on your arm...what is it?

I think I saw your darksp-Garuze?...with one but I'm not sure," she commented, correcting herself when referring to the Turian; she had to remind herself that he was a companion of Shepard's, so he was not a threat.

"Garrus." Shepard chuckled before raising her fire-thing again. "This is an Omni-Tool." she explained. "It's standard among my people." she moved her hand slightly as the tool moved with it. "Most people only have one, I got two."

Sabrina noticed the stares they received and quickly moved to cover the taller woman's arm; wrapping her hand around Shepard's forearm and lowering it; hiding the body part between them.

"Um...could you not do that so...casually?" the black haired Ferelden requested, looking around to see if anyone was pointing them out or making sure a Templar hadn't seen. "People see that, they'll think you're a mage...and then we'll really have some problems on our hands."

"I don't understand." Shepard said as she pulled her arm back before the tool disappeared. "It's just standard equipment."

"Where you are from perhaps," the rogue pointed out as they took a path that would lead them to Darktown. "But not here. My brother was right in a way...your Oni-Tool will be seen as magic, and you'll be seen as a mage.

And, unlike my companions and I...the people who confront you won't be as accepting of you as we were, Carver included," Hawke pointed out. "This place...my world...holds horrors that I'm not sure you would understand or believe, and magic is seen as the root of many of them."

"Yes." Shepard agreed while flexing her wrist slightly, "I will have a hard time believing you, but asking me to not use my tech or my biotics, is making me a rather poor fighter." she said. "I can snipe, but I didn't bring that equipment with me." she gestured to the same weapon she had inspected earlier, it was much smaller than the ones she had brought with her to the graveyard.

"I'm not asking you not to use your weapons," the younger woman corrected. "I'm just asking you not be so quick to use them...especially your Oni-Tool.

People hear voices coming from it and they'll call you an abomination and then things will really get out of hand," she whispered to the Commander, making sure to keep we voice low while talking of such things.

"We'll just have to make ourselves scarce once you use them," Sabrina said, voice returning to its normal volume as they entered Darktown. "Never stick around too long after the jobs done," giving a light chuckle.

"Alright?" Shepard asked, maybe agreed as she brought up a small part of her tool in the palm of her hand, the fire moving as she moved her fingers in an odd pattern with no real meaning. "I'll reroute the audio to my ear piece." she said before lowering her hand.

"If that makes you more comfortable."

The rogue gave a nod to confirm that. The pair then walked along in silence fire a few moments before coming to a little section in the corner; nothing appears to be special about it, save for a hanging lantern.

Sabrina moved forward and rapped on the door in her usual manner, before she felt the magical barrier on the door disperse for her. She signalled Shepard to follow; shutting the door behind the woman once they were inside.

"Be warned, Anders can be a little...overbearing at times," she whispered to the redhead, as she led them deeper into the Clinic.

"Who?" Shepard asked while she watched where she stepped. She knew some of the grime mixed in with the dirt was probably questionable. She hated cleaning out the treads of her boots.

"Hawke who did you drag in this time?" A blonde asked loudly, never looking up from his patient. "Look. I've already agree to-" he stopped when he turned around. "Oh uh..."

Sabrina smirked. "This is a new friend of mine," she said, gesturing toward the Commander. And, Shepard didn't miss the term Hawke had use to describe her. "She and her companions, which you'll probably meet at another time, will be with us for a while, so I figure introductions need to be given and whatnot."

He observed the unfamiliar woman in question. "She isn't local is she?" He asked, walking up to them.

"That obvious eh?" Shepard asked, her dialect catching attention once more. "We're from a place pretty far away from here." she held her hand out. "Shepard." she introduced herself.

"The aura she gives off...it's out of place," he stated, circling the Commander during his inspection. Ignoring her outstretched hand.

His eyes then turned to Hawke. "What did you do this time?" He demanded to know. His tone causing Sabris to bark, before growling deeply at the mage.

"Hawke didn't do anything." Shepard lowered her arm and moved her hands to rest behind her back. "My team ended up here by mistake, she just so happened to find us before we made contact." she explained. "I am lead to believe that my team's presence here could also lead to an uprising..." she looked at Hawke. "Eh ?"

Anders frowned. "Wonderful, as if the mages of Kirkwall don't have enough to deal with already," he said sarcastically, folding his arms across his chest.

"I'm merely showing our new companion around," Hawke pointed out. "I'm going to take her to see Aveline after this," she told him.

"I've never heard your dialect before," the blonde stated. "Hawke. Who is she? Where did you find her? And where are the others like her?"

"I'd love to sit down over a stiff ale and stale bread but you have patients to see," the rogue said quickly. "And we really have to run," gathering Shepard an ushering the both of them out the doors.

"So have fun healing patients and try not to let Justice take over!"

* * *

"What was that?" Shepard asked once they had fled the slums. So she figured that's what they were. They were much dirtier than the place she grew up. That was for sure. "He's..." she couldn't find the word she was looking for.

"Complicated. Anders is a very complicated individual," Sabrina supplied as she led them through Hightown. "To sum him up would be like comparing him to my brother...only he's worse than Carver," giving a small chuckle.

"I was going to say that he makes an angry Doctor T'Soni seem tame." Shepard said. "But you haven't met her so." she looked around. "Is this the downtown core of the city?" she changed the subject.

Sabrina arched an eyebrow from the word; having never heard of a 'downtown' before. "Um...this is where the nobles and other important and wealthy people live yes," she answered, as she watched Sabris strut about in front of them. "Being in Hightown means you won't drown first," chuckling at the running joke.

"So it's like Rockcliff..." Shepard muttered before smiling. "Sorry, where I was born, 'Downtown' is what we called the heart of the city."

"Ah," came the shorter female's response. "Well lets hurry and have you meet Aveline," picking up her pace towards the Viscount's Keep.

* * *

"I still think you should have sent a ground team," Liara stated, speaking to Miranda. "It's been hours since the Commander was last heard from."

"We are also forty kilometres out." Miranda snapped. "The engineers are working on getting the door fixed. So unless you want to walk that, we can't do anything."

"Hawke and her companions seem to be able to make the distance just fine on foot," Liara snapped back at the XO. The young asari had began to grow restless. Shepard had ordered all non-humans to remain on the ship. It had been nearly a week now; it was ironic that being confined to a single space would bother the scientist so much.

After all, Liara was an archaeologist and could spend months, even years, at a time in one place.

"Letting your rank go to your head Cheerleader?" Jack commented, from her place near the galaxy map.

Miranda sent a glare so sharp Jack's way that it could have cut diamond. Garrus slowly made his way toward the bridge.

"Um...I think we might be in danger here," he commented to Joker. "Three powerful biotics cooped up in the ship, and no Shepard to run interference."

"I can call her, but until we get the Hammerhead out Shepard is just as stranded." Joker commented. "She'll call us when she needs us, if we go by foot we might miss her on the way."

"Why don't we set up a campsite outside?" Jacob offered. "We can treat it like a shore leave. I can't see the Commander saying no to that."

The prisoner turned to look at the dark skinned biotic. "The Commander, no. But Cheerleader..." trailing as she focused her attention back on the XO. "She's a different story.

Based on observed data, everyone would benefit from being outside of the ship for a few hours, EDI's chimed in, as her hologram appeared. I have scanned the perimeter and there are no sentient life forms around us.

So, we will not be in danger of being discovered.

"I say we do it." Garrus held his hands up. "It would be a nice change of scenery, all lush and green, I can't think of a single place where we can do it without artificial help."

Miranda bit her lower lip, seeing that everyone was looking at her, she caved.

"Fine, but Jacob, it's your idea, so you take charge for any fallout." she said, crossing her arms. "I still want the non-humans to be extra careful, we cannot afford a repeat of the same incident Garrus went through earlier today."

Joker snickered. "Being chased around outside the ship like kids on a pinata," he teased the Turian. "They wanted to split you wide open from what I hear.

Wish we'd caught it on camera," he added in amusement, as he opened the airlock for the team to exit off the ship.

Garrus's mandibles twitched. "They thought I was some type of...evil creature," using his hands to make gestures as he spoke. "I guess seeing me would be the equivalent as seeing a Collector aboard the Normandy.

We'd all attack first, without asking any questions," he pointed out, to which the pilot conceded that point.

Carefully, Joker pulled himself to his feet. "Well kids, time to experience the great outdoors. Where they have real sunlight, and air, and trees...and even real dirt," he spoke with his usual charm as nearly the entire crew filed off the ship.

Eager to be out of the confined space. None of them saw a reason to remain cooped up, when they had an opportunity to be off the ship for a few hours; they spent a majority of their time aboard it already.

Only Jacob hung back. Miranda had started to fiddle with her Omni-Tool; he observed her for a few moments, arms folded across his chest.

"So..." he started casually as he leaned back against the closest wall.

"There are some reports I need you to check over before I send them off to the Illusive Man." Miranda said as she lowered her arm. Jacob looked at her.

"Is that an offer?" he asked slyly Miranda just gave him a look before walking towards the elevator.

He watched her go. He then went outside and mingled for a few minutes; Jacob knew how private of a life Miranda led, and she would prefer it to stay that way. Not that the older woman gave much thought to rumours and mutterings.

After all, she knew that people called her a bitch behind her back-except in Jack's case, where the prisoner said so to her face.

Nearly a half hour passed before he made his way back onto the ship, and towards the elevator; his destination deck three. When he arrived he was pleasantly surprised that even the other crew members had decided to head outside.

He made his way to her room, the doors sliding open, and wasn't surprised to see her at her desk. Jacob chuckled to himself; that was Miranda, always working.

"So..." he started, she looked up at him, smiling softly, Jacob nodded, aware of the agreement between them. "We probably got until Shepard comes back." he said, watching Miranda as she finished up whatever she was doing. "Surely the reports can wait until we're back in space, we can always just lie to him. He did send us all into a trap."

The pale eyed woman let out an amused chuckle as she finished filing the final report. With that done, she pushed herself away from her desk; moving to stand before it. Observing Jacob just as casually as he was doing with her.

She knew exactly why he was there, the look on his face told everything; and, it had nothing to do with the sex they were about to have.

"And I have taken the time to disable all the video surveillance logs that I know about," she countered him. "Among several other things. Still, I am the XO and maintaining logs is apart of the job description," she added, which caused him to nod.

They fell into a momentary silence.

"You've got that look again," Miranda pointed out to him. He gave her a curious look. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about Mister Taylor.

How many times must I remind you that our past affinity is long since over, and that what we do is purely on a physical basis," she told him, crossing her arms loosely over her chest.

The former Alliance soldier didn't seem deterred by her words and casually approached her. Bringing his hands to rest on her hips as he looked into her eyes. Jacob didn't say anything, he knew how these always turned out, someone always ended up hurt. He knew he was going to be the one.

But he didn't care. He knew that Miranda could care about him the same way he felt about her. She just needed time...and encouragement.

* * *

Aveline let out a sigh. "I swear Hawke, you are more of a headache than bandits," she breathed out to which the rouge only grinned.

"I'm not here to cause trouble." Shepard said as she watched the two. "I'm just trying to get a read on the area, we don't plan on staying very long, if we can help it."

The ginger shook her head. "No, no...I wasn't complaining," she assured the redhead. "I'm used to Hawke always having things follow her.

The name's Aveline Vallen," the guardswoman introduced herself.

"Commander Shepard." Shepard returned, holding her hand out. "Shepard is just fine though."

"A pleasure," the warrior responded, as she took the offered hand, giving the Commander a surprisingly strong handshake for a woman. She released the Commander's hand and turned to face Hawke. "So, what exactly is going on?"

Sabrina gave a shrug. "It's a bit of a long story," was her reply. "Just know that Shepard and her companions are from a really, really, really far away place and are trying to find a way to get back there.

Until then, we'll more or less being seeing our fair share of them."

Shepard didn't say anything right away, suddenly moving her head and pressing two fingers against her ear as she turned away from them. "I don't see a problem with that." she said to no one, causing Aveline to frown. "Why would I have a problem with that?"

The guardswoman focused her attention on the rogue. "Is our new friend...a few coppers short of a silver?" she inquired of the light skinned woman with an arched eyebrow. A question which had Sabrina reeling with laughter.

"Would...would that be such a bad thing considering our group?" Sabrina countered, as she wiped a tear away from her eye.

Shepard sighed. "Look, we all know there are problems with Lawson." she continued, seemingly unaware on the conversation going on behind her. "As far as I see it, Joker, it's shore leave, take it in stride, even if there isn't a sushi place nearby." a chuckle. "Shepard out."

Aveline let out a sigh reserved only for Hawke. Bringing her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Why is it that you seem to attract not only the crazy...but a special type of crazy?" she inquired of the rogue. "You go out and find another one who has a voice, or voices, in their head like Anders.

Maker's breath..." Aveline shook her head while Shepard turned around looking at them, frowning.

"I did something odd again, didn't I?" she asked, earning a slow nod from Hawke. "I need to head back to the Normandy sooner rather than later. The crew is setting up camp and not too long ago did my three most powerful biotics risked tearing through the CIC." she pinched the skin on her forehead for a moment, looking down at the stone ground. "I really wish they could survive a day or two without me."

Sabrina grinned from that before slinging an arm around Shepard's shoulders. She had to stand on the balls of her feet to do so; but, she didn't care. "That's the price we pay for being the leaders of our crazy groups.

I have to run interference between Isabela and Aveline at least twice a week depending on the situation," she told the Commander. "Then there's interference between Anders and Fenris, not to mention Carver and Anders," she paused to release a dramatic sigh. "Unfortunately, people like us are the only ones who can soothe the beast." Shepard chuckled.

"Glad to hear that there is someone else out there sitting in the same boat as me." she said. "But I need to get back to my crew." she stepped away from Hawke before bringing up her arm, stopping halfway, clenching her hand into a fist before dropping it. "So I should be going now."

"Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait wait..."Hawke called out, moving to block Shepard's path. "It's nearly nightfall, and it'd be too dangerous for you to travel Sundermount alone," she pointed out. "Allow me to gather my companions and then we can all go."

"Hawke that is hardly necessary." Shepard sighed. "I'll be fine on my own." she moved to step away from them. "I..." she stopped herself, smiling. "That's right, my name doesn't carry any weight here."

Sabrina grinned. "Nope, just like mine," the shorter woman boasted proudly. "We're definitely in the same boat," came the tease.

"Hawke's right," Aveline spoke up. "Travelling alone is dangerous enough as it is, but travelling Sundermount alone...you'd have to be mad. Plus, you don't even have a weapon," the guardswoman said, as she inspected the redhead's form, finding none to disprove her statement.

"Au contraire ma nouvelle amie." Shepard smirked. "I do not need steel blades to fight."

Hawke and Aveline both gave her curious looks. "Don't need blades?" the ginger echoed, really starting to believe that Shepard was indeed a few coppers shy of a silver.

"Au contraire ma...? ...I didn't know you spoke Orlesian," Hawke commented in surprise. "Also, I don't think that rectangular thing you kept fiddling with counts as a weapon," pointing toward the device hanging on the woman's hip.

"Orlee-what?" Shepard blinked. "No, that was French." she pulled out her device the two women watching as it beeped and changed form in her hand into a larger form.

"Orlesian," Aveline repeated the word for her, as her eyes focused on the curious device being held in the woman's hand. "It's the language the people of Orlais speak. My father was Orlesian, taught me the language."

"Vous comprenez ce que je veux dire, non?" Hawke questioned of the redhead, speaking in the Orlesian tongue.

"Je parle une petite peu de Français." Shepard responded.

The rogue's eyebrows came together in confusion. "What is...frankais?" she asked curiously.

"And, more importantly, what is that odd device in your hand?" the guardswoman interjected. "I've seen Varric's crossbow compress, but I've never seen anything like what you have in your hand," came the confession.

"French, it's the second language to my home country." Shepard said as she held up her weapon. "This here is my M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol. It's not exactly military standard, but he's still powerful and deadly." she moved it side to side in her hand. "I like him for his rate of fire and quick reload."

Another sigh from Aveline. "And she's like Varric when it comes to his crossbow...wonderful," she commented in exasperation.

"I don't see how whatever this piston is can do any damage," Sabrina remarked, as she poked at the weapon with her finger; much like a child would poke at a fishtank. I mean, what happens if you enemy gets close to you...or is huge!" Making a hand gesture to go along with her words.

"This is what I used to disarm you and Isabela earlier today." Shepard looked at Hawke. "You've seen me take down an ogre first hand." she grinned. "I think you can give me a little faith."

The ginger's eyebrows rose from that knowledge. "Someone actually managed to disarm you AND the pirate wench," she said in surprise, before a smirk settled onto her face. "Wish I'd been there to see it."

Sabrina flushed in embarrassment. "I..it wasn't...there was a non-darkspawn and..." noticing Aveline's smirk growing by the second. She huffed. "We're going now!" she announced, taking hold of the Commander's arm and dragging the woman out of the guard captain's office.

"Don't worry Hawke, I'll still send things your way if anything needs to be done in the city," the warrior called out after them. "I'm sure they won't have the same luck in disarming you," voice filled with amusement.


	6. Chapter 6

Joker was smiling and laughing as he laid down his cards, only for Kasumi to hold up a finger as she laid hers down, a Royal Flush.

"Cheat! You cheat!" the pilot shouted. "There is no way! No way I say!"

"Joker, you do know who you're playing with right?" Garrus sighed waving at those around the those sitting at a crate they were using as a table. Kenneth, Gabby, Kasumi, Zaeed and Jack were all playing this game of Skyllian Five. "At least it's not the Commander, she has a mean poker face."

The pilot scoffed. "As if her poker face would make a difference when the Yellow Power Ranger's involved," he said, gesturing towards the thief with his hand, earning a giggle from her.

"Yellow Power Ranger?" Garrus asked slowly, looking at the group of humans.

"It's an old vid series from the 1990's" Kasumi answered. "I might have lifted a set somewhere along the line I'll have to check." she chuckled. "Where is our glorious Red Ranger anyway?" Kasumi asked, "She did drop a line saying when she was coming back, right?" she eyed Liara who was pacing back and forth, even though she was off the ship, she was still restless.

Joker noticed the pacing asari too, and couldn't resist teasing at the scientist's expense. "Probably still hanging out with Hawke...taking in the sights...the sheets...if you catch my drift," he joked as Garrus dealt the next hand. "I mean, she and Shepard seemed to be getting along fine..."

Jack snorted. "Please,everyone on board can see that Shepard is hooked on Blue, like an addict on Red Sand," the prisoner commented, as she eyed her hand.

"Only you would know that." Garrus chuckled. "But I thought Red Sand doesn't affect biotics."

The tattooed woman shrugged. "I was able to get a buzz off of it, had to take insane amounts of the stuff though," she informed him. "The beauty of being a supercharged biotic like myself...I can get shitfaced and wake up the next morning perfectly fine."

Zaeed chuckled in his throat. "Wish I could do the same," he stated in his usual raspy voice, as he raised the pot.

"What is taking her so long," Liara wondered aloud as she continued to pace around the area. "It's been hours since we've heard from Shepard last."

"Well, someone certainly is worried," Joker said, as he called the raise. "I thought you were so upset with her for botching things up during the jump?" came the counter.

"I am." Liara growled. "I just want to give her a piece of my mind before I decide to flay her alive with it." she stopped pacing for a moment as her biotics flared. I"m just so...so..." she paused. "Cross! With her!"

"Cross? Really." Jack sounded bored. "That's all you could come up with?"

An amused chuckle came from Kasumi, as Liara sent the convict a glare. "I don't think the good doctor is one for swearing," she teased, as her eyes shined beneath her hood.

"I'm sure Jack would die if she didn't do her daily swears," the pilot chimed in with a snicker.

"Keep in mind Joker," Jack said turning her gaze towards him. "I'm close enough to where I can hurt you badly."

He scoffed. "And keep in mind, that you need my amazingly awesome flight skills to get us off this planet.

Unless of course, you're comfortable with ending out your days with the Ice Queen," he suggested, when he spotted the woman exiting the ship and heading towards them. As usual, Miranda did not look too pleased. The head of the Lazarus Project noted Liara who seemed to be at a breaking point before looking at Joker.

"Have you heard from the Commander?" she asked. "She's not answering my calls."

"That's what we were just goddamn talking about." Zaeed said. "Don't you have a tracker on her or something? You're the one that put her together again." he chuckled, Miranda rolled her eyes.

"The GPS is on her standard suit, she went out in that ruddy Edmonton Blood Dragons thing today. " Miranda sighed. "She never wears that into combat."

"Must be feeling homesick then." Joker quipped. "She's too damned patriotic for her own good."

"Maybe hoofing that forty kilometres doesn't sound too bad now," Jacob's voice floated over, before his body did. He'd been off the ship far longer than Miranda had been; he was discussing some things with Thane and Samara.

His chocolate orbs focused on Miranda. "Maybe we should gather a ground team and go find her?" he suggested. "It's unusual for the Commander to be out of communication this long, especially when it's not during a firefight."

"I doubt any of the meat bags on this planet could take down my Battlemaster, "Grunt stated, as he pumped his fists together. "She took down a Thresher Maw after all. The humans of this planet wouldn't stand a chance."

"The aggressive dinosaur's got a point," Joker agreed, as he looked up at the XO, who was pretty much in charge of the show with Shepard gone. "Not like they could take her down...and I'm pretty sure we'd have seen smoke on the horizon by now if that's the case."

"Unless they caught the Commander by surprise," Thane's rumbling voice filling the air as the drell spoke. "They seemed friendly enough, but we do not yet know their true nature. They could have taken her off guard."

"No!" Liara snapped as she stopped pacing. "The Commander cannot be taken down that easily!"

"May I also point out that not one of them had a gun on them?" Jacob said as Zaeed nodded along. "Even if they did get the jump on Shepard, they would still be bringing a knife to a gunfight."

"She's also adapted well to her biotics since she woke up." Garrus agreed with Jacob. "Back when were were fighting Saren, she kept insisting she was an Infiltrator. Couldn't sneak around to save her life. The changes you made Miranda, were for the better." he looked over at the XO who smiled for a second.

"I had the option to experiment." she shrugged her shoulders. "So I took it."

While everyone was busy discussing Shepard, Joker tried to get a look at Kasumi's hand. She noticed and smacked his hat down; pushing it over his eyes, giggling as he pulled back.

"Still, the point is, if Shepard does get taken down that easily, she deserves to be," Jack stated, earning a nod of agreement from Zaeed.

"Girl's got a point," he said aloud. "Let the woman enjoy her time out, in whatever ways that may be."

Those answered didn't satisfy Liara. "Well equipped or not, this is an uncharted cluster and we have no idea how others of this land will respond to her," she remarked. "I still think we should-" her sentence was cut off as she turned bumped into a body that hadn't been there.

It was unexpected, and both forms ending up tumbling to the ground; the asari ending up up the bottom. Finding a blade to her throat as she regained her bearings.

"Abomination..?" Sabrina asked slowly, casting her eyes up at the Commander. She didn't want to have a repeat of earlier, but she couldn't quell the reaction of having her blade at the creature's throat.

"Get off Doctor T'Soni, Hawke." Shepard said dryly as she used her biotics to push the rogue off before moving over to stand in front of Liara, holding her hand out to the Information Broker.

Varric chuckled as he came to stand behind Hawke. "You certainly do have a way with the ladies Serah," he teased, looking up at his taller friend.

"That's because of all those stories you tell about me," the rogue responded, as she sheathed her weapon. "Which Isabela is more than eager to tell me how many men and women are wanting me to share their beds."

She felt a body step behind her; breasts pressing into her back. Sabrina knew exactly which woman it was...she knew those funbags anywhere. "Oh, but I only speak the truth Hawke," Isabela said in a sultry tone, as her hands came around to the younger woman's front to play with Hawke's chest straps. "How come you don't take me and pin me to the ground like you did the abomination?" came the tease.

Sabrina let out an amused chuckle, looking over her shoulder at the woman. "Because my dear Isabela," making sure to draw out the woman's name. "It would be too easy to get you onto your back, because you'd do all my favourite parts," she teased.

Laughing loudly when the pirate stepped away from her, slapping the rogue on the shoulder.

"Abomination?" Liara all but snarled as she let Shepard help her up, but she pushed the Commander aside after that. "What did you just call me?" she marched her way up to Hawke and Isabela. "I'll have you know that-"

"Doctor T'Soni." Liara was stopped by Shepard, turning around to face the woman who hardly looked amused. "They did the same to Garrus."

"But they called me... Dark? Dark..." he couldn't pronounce the word, with it being English and his translator unable to pick up the word, but that wasn't enough for the good doctor, with a flare of botics Shepard found herself flipping through the air like a rag doll before crashing on the ground with a groan.

"What the hell T'Soni?!" Shepard shouted as she sat back up.

T'Soni pointed a glowing finger at Hawke, who looked just as confused as the other members of her group. They'd never seen an Abomination glow blue before-even Anders didn't do that when he lost control; they had also never encountered one that seemed to speak.

Or, what they assumed spoke.

Words were rapidly falling from the blue skinned doctor that none of them understood. Shepard seemed to understand though, as she was responding; thankfully, a translator wasn't needed to be able to tell when people were having an argument.

"You certainly travel with some strange company Serah," Varric voiced as he glanced over at the Commander, who had finally pulled herself from the ground. "First darkspawn and now abominations?" he questioned, giving a shake of his head and shrug of his shoulders. "I suppose next you'll have a companion that's an Archdemon?"

Isabela eyed the heated doctor curiously. "Well...if their ship can't be stripped for parts, maybe we could take the Abomination off their hands?" she mused aloud. "I'm sure there would be magisters interested in having one so...unique."

"_YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL ME AS A SLAVE?!" _Liara screeched loudly, jerking back, as she turned quickly to glare at the pirate; who did not understand a word of the gibberish coming from the creature's mouth.

Sabrina just shook her head. "Come now Isabela, we all know how you feel about people being enslaved," she pointed out. "Even you have morals...loose as they may be." A small, amused smirk coming to play on her lips as she eyed her dark skinned companion.

The look Hawke sported on her face caused Liara to snap, as she focused back on the rogue. She jabbed the younger woman in the chest with her finger as she shouted at the rogue. Sabrina stared at her in confusion before, leaning to look past the creature.

"Um...I'm going to take a guess and assume that...it..." Sea green eyes observing the body in front of her. "...sheeee...is upset with me?" speaking to the Commander.

"T'Soni!" Shepard snapped, ignoring Isabela and grabbing the asari by her shoulders, Liara wasn't having any of it, quickly striking the Commander with her biotics, knocking the redhead's feet out from underneath as she fell face first on the ground.

"Oh this is good, too good." Jack commented from where she sat. "I didn't think Blue had a dark side!" she clapped her hands once as Shepard picked herself up off the ground before throwing a wave of biotics back at Liara, the asari blocking them with a quick barrier as they started to circle each other, their fight returning back at full force.

"How was I supposed to know!" Shepard shouted after Liara was done shouting. "You've been giving me the cold shoulder since Illium!" Biotics flared up while Shepard summoned her Tech Armour.

"This is going to get good." Zaeed commented, Hawke's team suddenly forgotten. "Bout time them lasses fight it out," as he put his cards down and grabbed his drink, before focusing on the two biotics.

He then cast a glance at Jack. "That just leaves you and the Cheerleader," titling his head about both women in question.

The convict smirked. "Hey, I'm totally game for that," she agreed wholeheartedly. "Haven't had any action in days and I think Cerberus's bitch could offer me a fairly decent challenge.

Up for having your ass handed to you?" Jack taunted, as she looked at the XO who was frowning deeply at her. "And, you've got the advantage of me not killing you until after the mission that will keep you alive."

Miranda's response was a quick swipe at the tattooed woman's head. Jack dodged, rolling onto the ground before standing up and charging her powers; a smirk on her face as she eyed Miranda, as her body glowed it's familiar blue.

"Touch a nerve?" Jack mocked in amusement.

"Looks like our Game Night, just turned into Fight Night," Kasumi commented, somewhat amused at the turn of events. "Glad to see we can turn N7 Code of Honour: Medal of Duty into the real deal," she added with a laugh.

"I do so love a good brawl," Isabela announced, as she and the rest of her companions watched the two fights unfold.

She was met with nods of agreement...even from Bethany. "Think we might have to start hanging out here instead of the Hanged Man Rivani," the storyteller remarked. "Imagine what they get like when more ale is involved."

"Liara just listen!" Shepard shouted as both her Omni-Tools crackled, one with an Overload and the other with a Cyro Blast. "We'll get the Shadow Broker when we get back! I'll get Feron back!"

"By then it might be too late!" Liara shouted as Shepard quickly moved to the side to dodge a biotic throw before shocking the asari and forcing her cooldown time to take a little longer. 'We had the perfect window! And your boss just had to go mess it all up!"

"It was the Collectors!" Shepard returned unleashing a Cyro that was blocked again by the barrier. "I wasn't about to pass that up!" she was almost tempted to go for her pistol, but she would never be able to pull the trigger on her. "You know what I'm trying to do Liara!" she relaxed her stance, and that was her mistake, Shepard found herself caught in a singularity field and with a single warp was sent off flying clear over the docked Normandy.

Varric and Zaeed whistled at the same time.

Right afterwards Liara turned on the other two biotics, capturing them in stasis fields and pulling them apart.

"Wow...just wow..." was all Joker had to say. He'd never seen Liara this pissed before...it was actually frightening; especially how easily she managed to pull Jack and Miranda apart.

"Sister...shouldn't we try and stop them?" Bethany suggested, earning her sibling's attention. "I mean...won't all this noise attract attention?"

The rogue nodded, showing she got her sister's point. "We're further than we were from the Dalish and the city...so they shouldn't risk trouble. Sundermount already unnerves people as it is, so with luck, people will just chalk it up to the mysteries of this place," she responded before looking back out at the scene.

"Besides...somehow I think they need this. It wouldn't be my place to interrupt," she added in.

"Well, aren't you the insightful little thing," came a new voice, as Kasumi appeared among them. "Shep and Liara have been at odds for a while, it's was only a matter of time before it blew up on them." she chuckled. "As for the other two, it's always been like that."

"I think that's enough fighting for one day." Jacob spoke up when he saw all three of the biotics. "The Commander is missing, again." he looked over at the general direction Shepard had been thrown. "Shouldn't go check to make sure she wasn't killed my mistake?"

"A little fall won't kill her." Liara spat as she dropped the other two women. "She's done worse." Liara moved away from the humans. "She should learn to keep in contact with her crew!" she stormed around in the spot, raising her hands slightly to grip the back of her head. "She's changed!"

"You've changed too Liara." Garrus went out and pointed it out. "It's two years of mourning, two years being dead. It changes everyone."

The asari was silenced from his words, mainly because what he said was true. She didn't want to be angry at Shepard, she knew it wasn't the Commander's fault; but, Liara wanted to blame someone.

Shepard for running off and being a hero, herself for not sticking it out to help the Commander; hell, she even wanted to blame Joker for not leaving the bridge and forcing the redhead to go and save him. Had any of those things happened, perhaps Shepard wouldn't have died in the first place.

"What are they saying?" Sabrina asked of the thief, who was just leaning casually against her person.

"That's right, you don't understand them." Kasumi grinned. "Liara's just complaining that the Commander has changed over the last two years, Garrus was just pointing out that death and mourning tend to change people. Sometimes not always for the better."

The dwarf made a noise. "I see...but shouldn't we go find Serah, before she ends up being some critter's lunch, or worse?" he suggested.

Before anyone could respond, Shepard came trudging into the camp; her armour a little scuffed up because of the crash.

"Never mind then," the marksman corrected.

"Shepard's a fighter." Kasumi said. "It will take a lot to kill her." she stepped back before cloaking again, always finding it amusing to just drop in on conversations like so. Liara ran up to Shepard but the Commander wasn't even going to listen. The asari soon found herself caught in a biotic field before being blasted back into a pile of stacked crates.

"Now we're even." Shepard snarled.

"Looks like this is going to be as long as War and Peace," Joker quipped, when Liara came charging out of the crates. Glowing blue and charging toward Shepard. "Should I have EDI fix us popcorn while we watch this show?"

With Liara focused back on Shepard, Jack and Miranda were free to go right back at one another. Garrus sighed. "Welcome to the biotic wars," the Turian breathed out as he watched four of their seven biotics go at one another.

"Too bad we aren't on the Citadel...people would pay good money to see this," the thief commented in amusement, as the biotics clashed; the energy radiating over them and washing over those watching from the sidelines.

"I...I've never seen magic used in this way before," the mage of Hawke's group stated, as she felt their energy washing over her. "It's like...it's like feeling lyrium in waves," she added in.

"The Chantry would have a field day if they ever saw this," Isabela said as she watched the fight, more specifically. "Her armour...I've seen it somewhere before...right! That's the Blood Dragon Armour the warden wore when I encountered him," she pointed out.

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "How in the name of the seven seas did she get it though?" she wondered aloud, as Shepard got Liara trapped in some type of paralysis field; the blue Asari floating off the ground. "It was only a single set made and Codie was the only one to have it."

"Shepard!" Jacob shouted, when he noticed the Commander's control slipping. "You've got to calm down!"

The shout was enough to pull Miranda and Jack out of their fight, crates and rocks being dropped as they looked over at their leader. Shepard was still holding onto Liara, trying to pull forth more of her power.

"Shepard! Stop!" Miranda shouted. "Your implants aren't made to take that kind of strain!" but it was too late. Liara had counterattacked the biotics, causing another explosion forcing them both back and away from each other. Shepard banging against the hull of the Normandy while Liara took out a tent.

"Maker's breath," Bethany breathed out, coughing a bit at the dust that had been kicked up. "I've never been more thankful that they are away from Kirkwall than in this moment.

Can you just image what the Templars would do?!" she demanded to know of her companions. "The entire city would be in an uproar, and would support wholeheartedly killing the mages, or worse, making them Tranquil," shuddering at the thought, recalling what had happened to Anders's friend Karl.

The dwarf among them dusted off his coat as he took in the scene. "Well...I don't think they'll be doing anymore damage...tonight at least," his voice carrying over the area, as he looked at both where Shepard, and this Liara, had landed.

Shepard was still on the ground while Liara had at least managed to pull herself to her feet.

"I'll be inside the ship." Liara growled before stalking off, still fuming while Shepard slowly started to move again, groaning.

"Liara, wait." Shepard called out, stopping the asari. She slowly turned to face the Commander who was pushing herself back up onto her feet. "I'm sorry." she said. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that back on Illium." she looked up at her. "Two years, is a long time."

Hawke watched the interaction curiously. Her head tilting to the side, as the observed. "Such a strange abomination that doesn't kill it's victims," she remarked, gaining the asari's attention. "First a darkspawn that isn't a darkspawn and now this," gesturing toward Liara.

"How did you manage this Serah?" she asked of the Commander.

"Her name isn't Serah." Liara commented dryly, Shepard chuckled while forcing herself up onto her feet, slow in her movements. "Shepard?" she looked at the redhead.

"Never more grateful for that bone weave." Shepard answered as she stood up. "That last impact probably would have broken something." she exhaled slowly, Liara moved over to the Commander to support her, both of them smiling.

"I'm sorry Shepard." Liara spoke. "It's just..." she stopped when Shepard hushed her.

"We'll make up for it later." she told the Information Broker. "Right now." she groaned as Liara helped her over to sit down on a smaller crate. "I think the Normandy hates me."

_Indeed I do Shepard_, EDI agreed through her Omni-Tool, earning a chuckle from the Commander.

"...and so the battle was done, and the Commander and Abomination found themselves a common ground between them," Varric narrated. "As the Commander whispered promises of things to come."

Sabrina simply laughed out loud at that, as she approached the pair. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a vial of blue, glowing liquid; offering it up to the Commander.

"What is this?" Shepard asked while Liara fiddled with her Omni-Tool, eventually bringing up a program that would help the natives understand them.

"It almost looked like liquified Eezo." Liara spoke looking away from her program for a moment. "I thought there was no Element Zero here."

Sabrina gave her a confused look, as her eyebrows knitted together, before turning her attention back to the Commander. "It'll help replenish your mana pools. Bethany looks the same way when she has really worked her mana...this will take care of that.

You'll have to down the whole vile though," she explained, looking rather sheepish about it. "Does the Liar want one?" Pointing at the asari.

Joker choked on his laughter, as he carefully hit the table.

"I'm not a liar!" Liara fumed while Shepard reached out and took the vial from her hands. The smart part of her brain was telling her to scan it first, but the stupid part said just drink it.

So she listened to the stupid part of her self, and took it like a shot.

And regretted it right afterwards as she felt her biotics spike and her implants burn, doubling over just before Liara caught her.

"Shepard!" she cried out just as her Omni-Tool beeped, her translation program online. "Shepard! What's going on!?" Shepard didn't answer as Miranda walked over, picking up the vial and scanned it, reeling on Hawke seconds later.

"You gave her pure Eezo? Are you insane?!" she shouted.

"Whoa! The Abomination can talk now?!" Sabrina exclaimed in surprise, completely ignoring Miranda's question, as her eyes were trained on the creature.

The rest of her companions were stunned just as well. "No one will ever believe this Varric," Isabela spoke to her partner in crime. "Even the drunkest of men will call you a liar."

"That doesn't matter." Garrus spoke up. "We need to get the Commander to Doctor Chakwas now." he was stern in his voice while the rest of the ground team crew moved to surround their leader. "We all know the effects overdosing on Red Sand and Minagen X3 can have on a human. It's toxic."

"That was pure Eezo mixed with... water?" Miranda blinked as she read the scan. "That can't be right."

The mage of Hawke's group spoke up. "I don't understand," she stated, gesturing toward the Commander. "She uses a form of magic, so a lyrium potion should not be harmful to her," she pointed out.

"Sunshine's right," Varric agreed. "Lyrium potions are only harmful to those who do not possess mana...and those are effects that won't show up for years," came the additional comment.

Sabrina studied the ailing redhead for a few moments. "Sorry, I did not take into account that she would not be able to stand the concentration," she apologized, before casting a glance at her sister. "Would you mind draining her sister?" came the request.

The golden eyed Hawke nodded in agreement. Channelling her magic, she focused on the Commander, a dark glow encompassing her hand. She then raised it towards Shepard and began slowly lowering the woman's mana levels. "Tell me when they get back down to a comfortable level for you," directing her words towards Shepard.

"What is she doing?" Tali asked as she approached the group, watching as Shepard's breathing returned to normal and the Commander regained control of her movements before reaching to the back of her neck and pulling out a small device and chucking it on the ground before gasping, her entire biotic aura dying off.

"Fuck!" Shepard swore. "I swore off drugs back when I enlisted!" she looked up at Hawke, still breathing rather hard as she pushed Bethany back. "You lied to me when you said you didn't have Eezo!"

Hawke stepped forward to stand before her sister. "I didn't lie!" Sabrina snapped back with a low growl. "I gave you a lyrium potion," pointing toward the empty vial. "Not that Ezio that you keep going on about."

"Element Zero!" Shepard snapped as she stood back up, her body trying to flare her biotics, but with no amp it hardly gave off the flare it should. She stumbled forward and Garrus caught her. Shepard didn't move after that.

"She's unconscious." the Turian spoke. "I'll take her to Doctor Chakwas." he easily lifted her up and started back towards the Normandy, leaving the others. Liara moved over to Miranda and took the vile.

"It's not exactly, Element Zero, but it's pretty damned close." the dark haired woman said. "It gave Shepard the same reaction a non-biotic would get after taking Red Sand."

"Wait." Jacob held his hand up. "I thought Red Sand and Minagen doesn't affect biotics, I mean, sure, the stronger stuff can make you stronger for a moment, but the reaction Shepard had..."

'It was both reactions." Liara said. "Shepard was never a true biotic originally." she pointed at Miranda. "But you gave her those abilities when you rebuilt her."

"She's an artificial biotic." Miranda stated, repeating what she had said earlier. "You can hardly tell, she's adapted rather quick for someone with no training, it might be because of her Prothean Cipher, I don't know."

"Can someone please explain to me, what in the name of the seven veils, is going on?!" Isabela demanded to know as she cut in on the conversation.

Not that her companions could fault her. They were just as curious as to what happened to Shepard; a Mage had never responded badly to a lyrium potion before.

The two scientists looked up at the pirate.

"Maybe, if you all stop calling me an abomination." Liara said darkly.

"I suppose that's fair," Sabrina conceded. "But, if you aren't an abomination...then what are you?"

"Normally, if we run into something as different as you Serah, it's usually trying to kill us," the marksman pointed out with a chuckle at the thought.

Liara looked at them before holding her hand out much like how Shepard did when introducing herself. "Doctor Liara T'Soni, Asari, one of the four Council Races." She was surprised at the force Sabrina met her had with; doing the same as Anders had done with Shepard and embracing the woman's forearm.

"What is an Azari exactly?" Bethany asked shyly, looking at Liara. Not to mention her eyes taking in the other non-abominations around them.

"The Asari are just another race." Kasumi appeared behind Liara, leaning on her shoulder. "A long lived, mono-gendered race with exceptional leaders and biotics." she disappeared.

"Hey! Not cool Kasumi!" Tali called out before realizing the attention was turned to her. "Keelah."

"I don't suppose these new introductions can be done over drinks?" Varric suggested, looking at the Normandy crew members.

* * *

Under request, Gardner had pulled out the keg of beer they had stashed away and some of the hard liquor had been pulled out. It was the starting of a party, people trying to mingle but the natives still stood out.

"Rivani, stop looking at my chest, my eyes are up here," Varric told the pirate, noticing where her eyes had fallen once more.

"But the chest hair..."

"Do you know how much I suffer under your gaze? I am a person, not an object!" The dwarf insisted.

Isabela gave him a curious look. "Um, Varric..."

He then burst out laughing. "Just shitting you Rivani!" He admitted.

"They are taking this rather well." Samara spoke softly when the Commander walked past. "First Contact usually only ends in war."

"Then I will count my blessings." Shepard answered, just catching a ghost of a smile on the Justicar's lips. Shepard knocked back the rest of her drink and moved on to the game of Skyillian Five Joker had started up again.

"You are awfully quite Serah...Lawzon?" Sabrina remarked, looking to the woman to see if she had remembered the name correctly.

Miranda was standing away from the group and Sabrina had come across her accidentally while she strolled around the ship.

"Lawson." Miranda corrected as she glanced away from Hawke and towards the others. Samara aside, the only other one not interested in the party was Mordin, he had gleefully taken some of the Lyrium potions off the natives and was now running tests on liquid. The Salarian doctor was positive, if the Commander had reacted as badly as she did, there was a chance it was Element Zero and their chances of returning home were rising.

"About that... Lyrium." Miranda started. "If everything works out and we can use it. Where can one find a large supply?"

"Far within the Deep Roads Serah," Hawke answered. "It's not exactly readily available outside of the Chantry and Templars.

One having lyrium usually means you're a Mage, smuggler, or a Templar," she informed the slightly taller woman.

A smile came onto the rogue's lips. "Fortunately, that's where we'll be going soon," she informed the XO.

"I see." Miranda said. "I'll let the Commander know after tonight." she pushed away from where she was leaning. "The sooner we get off this rock and back to the mission. The better."

Sabrina let out an amused laugh. "Don't like it here much do you?" Came the tease.

"It's not that." Miranda said. "Human Colonies are disappearing and we're the only ones who can stop it." she walked away a little bit. "As beautiful as your home is, we do not have the time."

"Aw, that's such a sweet compliment," Hawke quipped with a grin, as she followed after Miranda. "Heh, Shepard and I truly are in the same boat."

"Can I ask you something?" Sabrina questioned of the older woman.

"Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred." Miranda muttered under her breath before looking at Hawke. "Make it quick."

Hawke gave her a confused look. She was set to ask something but then shook her head; deciding against asking that particular question. "Your tongue...it's so...different from the others," she remarked. "Why?"

"Is this similar to the question you asked Shepard the other day?" Miranda asked. "About her style of speech?"

"I guess so," the rogue conceded. "Yours is so much more...pronounced."

"Where we grow up affects our style of speech." Miranda explained. "To make it simple to understand, each country has a slightly different dialect, some more pronounced than others. If you sit down and listen to different members of the crew, you'll notice them."

"So what is yours?" Hawke questioned, savoring the sound of the woman's voice. It was taking everything in the rogue not to start purring; it was certainly raise questions from the foreigners if she did.

"Australian." Miranda answered, still looking straight ahead.

"I have no clue what that is," Sabrina confessed laughing at her own lack of knowledge. "But," pausing to stand next to the Australian, earning Miranda's gaze. "I like it. It's very, unique...even compared to the others tongues."

She then said something in elven, which the XO did not understand.

But Miranda knew what Hawke was trying to do. She stepped away from the rogue looking at her. "I know what's going on here." she said curtly. "The answer is no."

"What?" Came the curious inquiry.

Miranda didn't even answer the question before walking away. Sabrina watched her go. She noticed how the dark skinned male observed the Australian before casting his gaze at her; he glared at her.

The rogue simply let loose an amused chuckle, while shaking her head, before heading back over to the group. She took a seat next to her sister, while grabbing a plate of food; she made sure to pile the plate high.

She then dug in with her usual enthusiasm.

"I swear you and Carver's eating habit and lack of table manners drive mother up the wall," Bethany commented with a sigh. "It's like having three Mabari at the table," she teased.

"Just make sure you leave enough for everyone." Shepard commented as she swirled her drink glass slowly. "We don't have enough food to last forever."

Hawke gave a nod to show that she would. Her actions earning a chuckle from the dwarf. "That's Hawke for you, when she isn't gutting bandits or running errands, her main concern is food," he teased his friend.

"So, sister," the mage said, earning her sibling's attention. "Do we have the coin to put up for the expedition?"

Sabrina paused, taking time to swallow her mouthful before speaking. "We do. We give the coin to Bartrand and we'll officially be partners," came her answer. "And we'll have enough to leave with mother while we're gone."

Isabela grinned. "Wonderful. Imagine...ages worth of untold treasures just waiting to be picked up," she practically moaned, as her golden eyes clouded over from the thought of all the riches waiting to be plundered. "Enough to make even the richest nobles green with envy," her tone becoming scandalous.

"Indeed Rivani," the marksman agreed, as he sipped at the unusual beverage that Shepard and her companions provided them. It was much better, quality wise than the piss they served at the Hanged Man, but he was an ale kind of man. But, the blonde wasn't one to turn down free drinks.

"Expedition for what?" Liara asked, curious. The cute archaeologist Shepard had fallen in love with peeking out of its hiding spot.

"Forget digging." Kasumi decloaked between Varric and Isabela. "What about these treasures? How much do they sell for?"

"Kasumi!" Shepard sighed, the thief chuckled.

"Um..." Tali said slowly, gaining the natives attention. "What are these Deep Roads?" she asked curiously.

The rouge of the group thought about what the masked woman asked. "The Deep Roads are an extensive network of underground tunnels that once belonged to the dwarven kingdom. During the First Blight, the dwarves were forced to closed the entrances, abandoning them to the darkspawn," she explained.

"The tunnels once linked and connected thaigs, settlements that were built to honour dwarven Paragons-those whose ever existence changed life in some way for the dwarven people," Varric explained, picking up the history lesson. Sabrina didn't mind in the slightest; he was the storyteller after all.

"Many thaigs fell to the darkspawn, and much of dwarven culture and riches, were lost forever to the waves of time. Becoming nothing more than myth and legend," he told them. "Today, the only two thaigs left are Kal-Sharok and Orzammar."

Miranda arched an eyebrow. "And you're wanting to go into a place filled with darkspawn?" she asked, just to make sure that she understood.

"Well, I wouldn't say filled. The Fourth Blight just ended a year ago, stopped by the Hawke sisters cousin. A blight is practically the only time the tunnels are empty, and I use the word loosely," he informed the XO. "It's empty enough to where we can get in, route around, and make it back and live like royalty."

"It can't be any different than boarding a Collector Ship." Shepard said. "If it's the only way we can get the Eezo to get back home, I say we do it." she looked at Liara for a moment. "We can't stay here forever, there are people out there that need to be stopped."

"The Commander is right." Jacob said. "By the sounds of it, these Darkspawn are no different than the Collectors."

"Then we got the firepower to take them down." Zaeed smirked. "Give me a good Mattock."

The Asari Scientist seemed to ponder the information for a few moments. "These 'Darkspawn'." Liara spoke. "Sound a lot like husks," she stated after a few moments.

"Liara is right." Garrus spoke. "They way you describe these Darkspawn, makes it sound like the husks we ran into on Eden Prime and Horizon. Do you think the Reapers have a foothold here too?" he asked Shepard who looked down at her half eaten plate.

"It is possible, not truly a theory I wish to test." Shepard responded. "Husks are humans turned into synthetics, these Darkspawn sound like something else entirely. Like...well I'm not sure what the comparison older woman we... well I met... on the first day we landed here meant. She said that our biotics are like their magic, but doesn't come with the same price. Could the Darkspawn be that price?"

Bethany frowned. "Some believe it to be so," she spoke up. "The Chantry says that they were created by the Magisters of the Tevinter Imperium. Opening a portal to the Golden City, and with every step they took, they tained the Maker's realm with their corruption. As punishment, they were cast out, becoming the first darkspawn."

Sabrina placed a comforting arm on her sister's leg. "Those that entered the Golden City were Magisters, mages...and because of that, the Chantry fears how easily someone born with magic could try and rule over others," she explained. "The Knights Templar and Circle of Magi were created to counter that...'problem'," hesitating in saying the word.

"Any child possessing magical abilities is by law required to go to the circle, where their entire life is spent isolated from the world and under constant guard of Templars," the younger Hawke said, hands clenching into fists. "We are seen as a danger not only to ourselves, but to others, as we have a higher chance of becoming possessed in our dreams by demons and turned into abominations."

"_I do not understand_." EDI spoke out over the Commander's Omni-Tool, having been listening in on the conversation . "_How is one possessed by a mythical creature during the Rapid-Eye Movement of their sleep cycle?_" _I have no data on this information_."

"I have to agree with the talking ship on that one." Tali quipped, crossing her arms. "Sounds like a load of bogus to me."

"Just like how Liara and I can use 'magic'." Shepard did the quotation marks and all as she said this. "Without connection to the Fade?"

"They would rather force my kind to live in a tower, make us Tranquil, or run us through," Bethany stated. "And out of those three, being made Tranquil would be worse than death I think. I would rather die."

"Bethany, no one, no Templar, is going to harm you," Sabrina stated firmly. "I would face Knight-Commander Meredith herself if I had to, to make sure that you stay safe." She had to. Carver didn't seem to be doing so...at least, noticeably anyway. He disliked mages so much that Bethany had always avoided her twin and honed in on Sabrina.

"I do so love, sibling love," Isabela quipped with a smirk as she eyed them. "Oh, don't mind me, continue on as if I weren't even here."

"_This sounds familiar to the problem with AIs and the Geth." _EDI's voice chimed through Shepard's Omni-Tool. "_I will look into this for similarities."_

"You do that." Shepard sighed, sounding tired before standing up. "Sorry guys, I need to call it a night."

Liara stood as well. "The same goes for me," she added, and several others of the Normandy crew did the same.

"Guess that's our cue Hawke," Varric remarked, to which Sabrina nodded in agreement, as she stood; all left on her plate nothing more than bones picked clean.

Sabrina stood and turned to face the human and the asari. "If you wish to further discuss lyrium, you can return to my home," speaking a bit more to the Commander as she had been the one to see where the Hawkes resided. "If not there, the Hanged Man is another stomping ground of ours.

Ask the bartender and he can point you in either one of these twos direction," pointing at Varric and Isabela. She then shifted her attention to her companions. "Well, let's get moving people...no doubt I'm going to have a hectic day tomorrow."

* * *

A/N: Terribly sorry for the inconsistencies and the Miranda/Jacob surprise in the last chapter. We are working to adjust future chapters to prevent shortcomings.


	7. Chapter 7

"Finally, we'll be able to do more than just sitting around!" Kasumi exclaimed, as they entered into the Lowtown Bazaar.

They'd been on the planet of a week and a half now. Most of the time devoted to fixing their ship; the other times entertaining Hawke and her companions.

"I don't know about this Shepard," Liara whispered to the redhead as they walked.

With a little aid from what they were able to salvage from old uniforms, and other pieces (and a good tailor) they were able to get a decent hooded jacket together for Liara. When Joker had seen the asari wear it he commented how it looked like a stylized jacket one would find in the old Assassin's Creed Vid Games. Shepard then added that it did have a modern 1812 look. Forcing Liara to note she needed to research that particular year in human history when she had the chance.

The asari told herself that she was going because she wanted to help. Which she did. But, she was also going because she didn't want to keep leaning on Shepard when things got tough. Hopefully this would help turn things around for them before attacking the Shadow Broker.

"As long as you don't talk around the locals we should be fine." Shepard whispered back.

"It's still a risk Shepard." Miranda quipped back the redhead shrugged. Liara walking around cloaked was no different than Miranda strutting around in her skin tight uniform and Shepard in her beloved N7 Armour.

"Well, we're almost at our destination," Kasumi commented, seeing the identifying landmark of a giant doll hanging upside down by its feet. "I think you look cute in it, in a... killer biotic kind of way." she offered up.

Liara took a chance to glance up at the bar. "How would one attract customers with a sign like this?" She wondered.

"No idea." Shepard answered rather quickly. "But people here usually don't raise questions. So Varric says." the Commander answered. Liara lowered her head slightly as the door was opened and the noise assaulted them all.

The smell that attacked their noses was horrible. Stale ale and piss mixing to for an interesting scent. Still, they were about to be even more disgusted. Four beautiful women walking into a bar full of drunkards. It didn't take a scientist to see the type of reaction they'd receive; they were swarmed immediately.

"Hey, babe...looking for a mage? Because I can magically make all your dreams come true," a drunken man said, speaking to Shepard.

"How about you sweetness?" Another asked, focusing on Miranda. "I could be your warrior...and pierce your heart with my spear," grinning lecherously at her.

The guy eyeing Kasumi was too drunk to speak; not that it mattered. Him attempting to grope her spoke volumes.

"I can crush you with my magics or shoot you between the eyes from two hundred paces." Miranda sneered. "Take your pick." Coupled with the way she said it was enough for him to nearly piss his own pants.

While Kasumi smirked as she pickpocketed the drunkard before pushing him over into a nearby chair. He just sat there dazed.

"I do not think this is a wise course of action sir." Shepard growled. "Watch who you are in company with before you press forward."

"Oh, a feisty one eh?" The man grinned, eyes shining. "I like a woman who puts up a fight," eyeing her up and down.

The man Miranda had threatened had finally regained his wits. "Well, if you crushing me with your magic, means between your thighs," making a rather bold move by trailing a hand down her torso. "Tell me what I've got to do to make it happen," giving her a smirk.

Miranda grabbed the man's wrist and started to bend the hand in a way it should not bend. "Leaving me alone for starters." she sneered. "If you still want to be able to use this hand in the morning."

"Shepard." Liara whispered softly watching as the Commander's hand ghosted by her belt slowly pulling out a switchblade.

"I'm only going to be nice once more before I hit my wits end." Shepard said slowly. "Leave."

Finally catching on that these women were not appreciating their attempts the men nodded rapidly in agreement. Miranda releases the man, while the other picked up their friend off the floor; the trio quickly scrambling out of the pub.

"Well that certainly was entertaining to watch," Isabela commented, gaining their attention as she rested at the bar drinking. "You're nothing more than tits and ass in this place...though given your little display of power, I think the men here will think twice before approaching you all again," a smirk playing on her lips as she downed her drink.

"You think armour and weapons would drive them away." Kasumi commented cheerfully. "I mean look at Shep here. She must look terrifying to the common man."

"Kasumi." Shepard muttered, the thief giggled.

"I hope it won't be a problem." Miranda looked at Liara. "She insisted she's come along."

Isabela chuckled again. "In case you haven't noticed, nearly everyone has on weapons and armour...so it's not something that would deter a man, when he want that particular...itch scratched," she remarked, before signaling them to follow her. She led them all to the rooms of the building.

"Oh." Shepard said when she saw Anders sitting at the table with the others as they filed it. "It's the mage who knew I wasn't from around from here." she joked idly as Anders looked up at her. "I never introduced myself to you properly." she made her way over so she could hold out her hand. "Commander Shepard. Special Tactics and Recon."

He gave a nod, while shaking her hand. "Serah Shepard. You already know my name," he said, as he released her hand. "Who are the others with you?" Attention drawn to behind the woman.

"My Executive Officer, Operative Lawson." Shepard turned to introduce her crew slowly. "Master Thief Kasumi Goto, and a very good Information Broker, Doctor Liara T'soni." While Miranda and Kasumi made notions of acknowledgement, Liara just took a hesitant step backwards.

Anders took notice of Liara. More so due to the outfit she was wearing than anything. "I've...never seen armour designed as such before," he commented, as his golden eyes took in the pattern and design.

Varric chuckled, from his seat and the head of the table. "It was my idea really. I suggested Blueberry try to blend in as much as possible, considering how much she stands out without it," he commented, earning a small flush to Liara's cheeks. Not that she could be seen beneath her hood.

He then focused on the woman in question. "You can take off the hood now, Blueberry. The door is closed and locked, so no one but us will see you," he assured her.

"Are you sure that is wise?" she asked him hesitantly. Anders had not been there the first day they'd crashed, so he had not seen any aliens. She wasn't sure how he would react to seeing her.

Though, she could take a guess considering how Hawke, and the companions she brought to their crash sight, reacted to Garrus and herself.

"Shepard, I still don't think..."

"Liara, it's fine," Shepard reassured her. "Anders might flip out, but everyone else did too when they saw you for the first time."

"You know Shep, next time she could just borrow some of my clothes." Kasumi chuckled as Liara brought her hand up to fiddle with the light scarf she had borrowed from Shepard to hide the lower part of her face, that she had added on just in case one would accidentally see the lower half of her face like Kasumi. "Not that they would properly fit you."

Liara flushed further. "Kasumi." Shepard sighed as she sat down at the table, to the right side of Varric.

The thief giggled, as she took a seat as well. "You know better than anyone that my statement is completely true," she pointed out to the Commander with a playful smile on her lips.

A smile that only increased in size when a light blush came onto the biotic's face. Anders was set to ask a question, but the sound of clothing coming off drew his attention; he inhaled sharply in surprise.

"Oh, you have such pretty skin," Merrill cooed, from her seat in the corner. "It's so blue, and it seems to glow in the firelight," she remarked.

Anders quickly jumped to his feet. "You...you...brought and abomination here!" he shouted, hand immediately going for his stance.

"Keep your voice down Blondie!" Varric shouted. "Do you want every Templar in Kirkwall to come bursting into the room?" he demanded to know. Honestly, Anders always had such a flare for the dramatics.

"Yes, I'm sure a room filled with three apostates and an abomination, will certainly brighten the Templars day," Isabela snipped in complete sarcasm.

The healer frowned, knowing that they spoke the truth. He lowered his voice but he kept a firm grasp on his weapon. "Just what is going on here?!" he demanded of anyone who would answer him.

"I gathered this people were not from here, but to willingly be in the company of an abomination...I will not stand for this!" His words firm, as his eyes remained locked on Liara, his own skin beginning to glow a blue-ish white as the spirit trapped within him raged.

"Hey!" Shepard snapped as she moved closer to Anders. "Watch what you say about her!" she got into her personal zone and pushed him once on the chest. "Liara here is not what you would call an abomination!"

"Can you imagine what he'd be saying if he saw Garrus instead? Oh!" Kasumi clapped her hands together. "Let's bring Harbinger next time!"

"No!" all three of her companions snapped at the same time as Shepard turned back to Anders.

"Where we come from, there are different races, but not like dwarves or elves." she then pointed at Liara. "She is an Asari, and a powerful one at that. Her information networks can put Varric's to shame."

"Seems like no one here has love for the Abominations," Kasumi remarked, as she put her feet up on the table, lounging in her seat.

"So, mister mage." Shepard snarled. "Are we going to have a problem?"

Anders turned to glare at the Commander. Eyes now void and glowing white. "Um, Shepard...I don't think that's such a good idea," Varric warned, slowly reaching for Bianca.

A pounding on the door stopped things before they could get out of hand. "Open the door!" Hawke's demanded from the other side.

Isabela was quick to obey. The door swung open, revealing Hawke, who looked a right mess; a scowl adoring her usual cheerful face. Upon witnessing the sight that she did, that scowl deepened.

"What's going on?" she demanded to know, already on edge from an encounter she'd had moments ago.

Anders turned toward her. "They travel with an abomination!" he accused, voice so heated it could melt iron, as he jabbed a finger in the asari's direction.

"We had the same reaction to her a few nights ago, but, you need to calm yourself Anders," Sabrina warned him. "I'm not sure if you've been told, but she is no abomination. How many abominations have you seen that are blue?" she countered, folding her arms over her chest.

"_You would allow her to travel with us?!"_

Sabrina shrugged. "Why not? We allow you to do so, despite the fact that you're far more emotionally unstable," she countered.

Her words did the trick as he immediately powered down. He looked highly ashamed of himself for allowing Vengeance to take control of him as it did. He turned to Liara. "I...I'm sorry," he apologized quickly before fleeing the room.

Liara spoke up, a few moments after the male mage had fled. "This must have been what First Contact felt like when the Turians found your people," addressing the Commander with her statement.

"You were alive for that Liara, not I." Shepard chuckled before turning to Varric. "But I must ask, what is his problem? The glowing biotic show there. I haven't seen Bethany or Merrill do the same thing."

"Anders," Varric paused as he attempted to come up with the right words. "Anders is a troubled fellow." he finally settled on.

"That's an understatement of the century," Merrill commented in a huff, still looking utterly adorable even as she did so.

Sabrina looked at her. "What my companions are trying to say, is that Anders himself is an abomination," she informed Shepard. "Actions created to help a friend, let to him becoming what he is now.

But, we know what they say about the best laid plans," Hawke commented, glancing at the door for a moment..

Liara's eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?" came the question, as she focused on the rogue.

"Sometime ago, Anders allowed the spirit of Justice to enter his body," the black haired woman began to explain.

"So you're saying that demons are actually real." Kasumi quipped, "I thought you just made up these stories to scare mages and children into eating their vegetables or something."

"So how can he point fingers at Liara, when he is one himself?" Shepard asked, Liara nodding along. "That sounds... hypocritical, if you ask me."

Sabrina sighed. "In order to get a grasp on it, you must understand that not all spirits are evil. There are spirits that exist within the Fade that embody our virtues...such as Justice," she explained to them. "As I said, he allowed Justice into his body because spirits cannot exist outside the Fade without a host.

But...Anders was filled with too much hate. Having to be subjected to the injustices that mages face...being forced into submission by the Chantry. It warped Justice, all of the hate Anders carried inside him, and has made Justice into a spirit of Vengeance," came the information.

"Most people who become Abominations are mindless killing machines," Varric informed them. "Capable of killing an entire division of soldiers before they are taken down...and the scary thing is, those are the weaker demons."

Hawke gave a nod of agreement. "You all have been here for nearly two fortnights now. It's possible that you all will slip into the Fade at some point, only then will you understand fully what we speak of," she said. "On behalf of Anders, I apologize for his outburst. He's usually not so hostile...I think you just reminded him of what he is struggling with within himself."

"Alright, so Anders hissy fit is out of the way, and I haven't had a single crew member complain about bad dreams. Seeing that there are several of us here, we just might not be affected."

"None of this does explain Hawke's appearance though." Liara muttered, earning a look from the woman.

"For Maker's sake, someone close the door before some drunkard sees her!" Varric shouted, gesturing towards the walking patrons who littered the lobby. Any of which who could walk up the stairs, pass by the room, and spot Liara in the process.

"It's possible that it might take time before you all can enter into the Fade since you all aren't from here," Bethany pointed out. "That might change the longer you're here."

Hawke moved to close the door. "Oh, I had to do an errand for Aveline down on the Wounded Coast. Lots of bandits camp out there...got into a few skirmishes," she answered. "Nothing too bad though...just a few cuts here and there."

"You're turning into a one woman army Hawke," Varric commented with a chuckle. "This is why people love to hear tales about you."

"Varric, if you only knew how well my team here can rip apart a horde of mercenaries, you'll be accused to telling tales much much larger than you." Shepard chuckled. "You haven't even see me and my trusty Valiant here at work." she tapped her Sniper Rifle on her back.

"Can we get back to the point of this meeting?" Miranda asked, growing rather impatient. "Or should someone go and get Anders first?"

Varric shook his head. "Leave him be. Blondie will come back of his own accord," he told Miranda before looking at the rest of the group. "Everyone here, minus Sunshine of course, will be coming along for our expedition into the Deep Roads.

You'll be interacting with my brother Bartrand. In order to understand my brother, you've got to understand the Dwarven Merchant's Guild," he told them. "Those people would sell their own mothers if they could get coin out of it. And with them breathing down your neck, you become the type of paranoid person who sleeps with a knife under their pillow. That's Bartrand."

"How long will the expedition take?" Liara asked, after allowing that information to soak in.

The dwarf seemed to think on it. "Considering how we're going deeper than even Grey Wardens have been...it's a three week journey beneath the surface. And that's just getting down there," he answered. "So we'll have to make sure everyone has supplies...that means having health and lyrium potions," Looking at Shepard as he said this.

"I know you didn't like it, but, in a place like the Deep Roads, you'll need it," came the statement.

"Biotics cool differently.' Shepard said as statement. "As much as you think I should be taking it, I've fought several battles, much longer than a week without the use of supplements aside from food. We don't have these 'mana pools' like you mages. It's hard to explain, we just consume a little bit more food than the average person." she glanced at Liara who blushed slightly.

"We'll worry about our own supplies." Miranda said. "Omni-Gel, Medi-Gel, Rations and whatnot."

"Thermal Clips as well." Shepard commented Miranda frowned.

"For this we might want to revert back to the older Heat Sink Weapons. I believe we have a stock of HMW Mark 10 Weapons in the armoury." she told the Commander. "Slower rate of fire, but we won't have to worry about reload or carrying extra clips."

"Everyone you wish to bring is adept in Biotics or Technology Commander, so if the case arise and we overheat our weapons, we still have a fallback plan." Liara added as Shepard bit her thumb, trying to process all of this.

"Having a companion who can take a lot of damage is a good thing to have in your team," Hawke offered up, as she took a seat. She was equating biotics with mages in terms that they were distance fighters and couldn't take much damage as a rogue or warrior. "Aveline can take a ton of damage without it bothering her."

"That's because Lady Man Hands is more man than woman," the pirate equipped with an amused chuckle.

Hawke shook her head in amusement. "If you and Lady Man Hands sleep together, I win," she declared, laughing from the stunned look on Isabela's face; her comment earning laughs from everyone in the room.

"Don't worry." Shepard leaned back in her seat. "I'm a Sentinel, I can take a pretty good beating before my shields fail." she brought up her Omni-Blade rather playfully. "These aren't for show."

The dwarf chuckled. "So you're saying they'll more than just eye candy, and I can refer to them when I tell my stories?" he teased, eyeing the taller woman. Shepard just gave him a look.

"I'm just saying, you need a tank for the expedition, she's sitting right here." The Omni-Blade disappeared.

Hawke grinned. "Now I can't wait to see you in action Serah," she stated. "Let's see if you can take more damage than Aveline."

The group talked for hours. Shepard and her companions asking questions, and Hawke and her companions answering to the best of their abilities and vice versa. It was decided that first thing in the morning they were going to make their way up to Hightown to get the expedition on it's way.

They'd grab supplies on their way up, as the shops opened early.

"Bethany, it's late. Since you aren't coming with us, I should get you home," Sabrina stated, knowing that it was nightfall because of how much calmer the tavern was-it must have been really late.

The younger girl looked at her. "Are you sure you don't want me to go?" came the question.

Sabrina gave a nod. "Mother would have my head mounted on the wall if I were to let something happen to you...and in the Deep Roads of all places," she responded. "Plus, Sabris and mother will need more company than just Uncle Gamlen and Carver," giving a light laugh at the end.

Bethany did the same. "I suppose you're right. You'll promise to be careful won't you?" she asked in a concerned tone.

A grin came onto the older sibling's face. "I promise to dive into the fray head first and slaughter as many darkspawn as possible while being a lady about it," she responded, earning a smack on the shoulder from the younger Hawke. "Alright, alright...I promise to be cautious and not take too many unnecessary risks."

The mage seemed satisfied with that. "I'm taking Bethany home. I plan on being back shortly, but we'll see how that goes," the tattooed Hawke informed the room's other occupants.

"Lawson, go with them." Shepard nodded to the Hawke siblings. "Kasumi and I can see Liara will be smuggled back safely.

"Smuggled?" Liara asked, rather loudly, Shepard and Kasumi chuckled.

"Are you sure about that Shepard?" Miranda asked, Shepard rolled their eyes.

"I have yet to see a single person here packing a proper gun in their pants, we'll be fine." she waved her XO off.

"Oh! Wait!" Sabrina said, as she suddenly remembered something, moving over to the chest Varric had in his room. "I wasn't sure of her size, but here's a spare armour set of mine," removing the set and presenting it to Liara.

"I figure, you'd probably like this better than your jacket," she assumed. "I'll be harder to cut through at least."Thinking in terms of defence, and the clothing Liara was wearing certainly seemed to have little to no defence at all.

Liara took the armour and frowned slightly, Shepard started laughing she she looked at Liara then back at Hawke.

"If this armour is made to your size Sabrina, it won't fit Liara." Kasumi chuckled, as she moved her hand across her breast. "Liara here is just as big as the Cheerleader." Sabrina took that moment to snap her head in the direction of Miranda.

"Hey!" Liara snapped at Kasumi but the thief was too busy laughing

"I think she's bigger than even you Isabela," the marksman commented as he observed.

"Umm..." Sabrina coughed, as she shook her head, trying to keep from going back to staring at Miranda. "We should get going, now. Like, right now." She said quickly as she ushered her sister out the door. Miranda following behind them.

Varric chuckled. "Hawke speechless? A first for her I think," he remarked, watching the group of three leave. His eyes then turned toward Isabela. "Careful, Rivani...it seems that you might not be able to bed Hawke as easily as you thought you would," offering a grin as he spoke to her.

"Oh please Varric," the pirate said, waving a hand in dismissal. "Hawke is more of a romantic. I can't give her want she wants. What I offer is purely physical, and that's all it ever need be," came the statement.

The dwarf didn't looked convinced. "Whatever you say Rivani," he responded. "Whatever you say."

* * *

Sabrina placed a kiss atop her sister's head, as well as her mother's. Both women were sleeping; Bethany falling asleep as soon as she hit the bed.

Leaving her sister to remove her staff and clothes. Not that Sabrina minded; it wasn't the first time she'd had to tuck her sister in after all. Once that was done, she carefully exited the room, stopping on her way out to speak to Sabris.

"Make sure to keep them safe while I'm away," she told him. "This includes uncle Gamlen and Carver, even if they're right sods. Uncle is all the family mother has left, outside of us."

The Mabari gave her a nudge to show that he would do as she asked. She smiled, while rubbing his head as a reward. "Good boy. I'll make sure to kill extra darkspawn for you," Causing his tail to wag from that.

With that done, she stood and observed Miranda who had posted herself by the door. "Shall we?" she offered the XO, as they both exited the house.

"Hawke." Miranda stared up suddenly when it was just the two of them as she looked down at the smaller woman. "What is with your constant interest in me?"

A chuckle came from the younger woman's mouth. "You make it very hard not to be interested in you," Sabrina countered, as they walked along the barren streets. "I'd be hard pressed trying to explain exactly why because then we'd be talking for days about my reasons."

"I am not one to easily give out personal information." Miranda responded. "I am not like Shepard."

"So I've noticed. A little unfair don't you think?" the rogue asked, eyeing the woman with a grin. "I mean, you know a lot about myself and my family, but I am at a disadvantage.

Why don't you two share anything?" came the prod. "Out of every one of Shepard's companions, I don't know yours or Shepard's first names."

"I'd rather keep it that way" Miranda snapped. Before Sabrina had a chance to respond, the sound of familiar footsteps caught her ears. The rogue would know them anywhere, and exactly to whom they belonged.

"Why is it that you get to go gallivanting around in the Deep Roads while we have to stay home?!" Carver demanded to know of his sister, as he stood before the two women. His mind didn't even register that his sister had someone with her. "Bethany not going, I can understand, but me? I have just about every right to go down there than you do."

Sabrina regarding her younger brother with a bored expression. "Hello to you too Carver," she greeted the taller man. She hadn't seen him since that morning; after making it known that she would go on the journey by herself, without either of her younger siblings.

"Why?!" Carver snapped. "Why are you taking these people we don't even know instead of your own family?!" he shouted down at her.

"Because, if something happens and none of us make it back, I'd rather mother only be out one child instead of all three," she answered the taller man. "Besides, Bethany will be here and she'll need someone to look after her and mother," she pointed out.

But her brother frowned from that information.

"You're going to regret that decision sister." Carver snarled, pointing at Hawke. "You shouldn't be taking a pile of mages with you anyway!"

The rogue rubbed the side of her head. She could feel a headache coming on; it seemed like all she and her little brother did was fight these days. They weren't always at odds...Sabrina wondered where the change in their relationship occurred.

"The "second child" act is getting pretty stale, Brother," Sabrina responded sarcastically.

"Try it from this side, always running after you. Or taking care of Mother while you mark your territory," the younger Hawke snapped back heatedly.

It was the rogue's turn to frown now. "That's enough Carver," she told him, already knowing where this was heading. But he continued on anyway.

"Back home, what could I be? I am no mage, and you are the blade, I am nothing but your shadow." he pointed at her. "I try to excel, but you were always there, one step ahead of me. You do everything in your power to be there for Bethany, but what about me?!"

"Carver..." the shorter sibling growled, moving to step closer to him. She prodded him in his chest. "Don't you dare act like I haven't been there for you. I've always been there, and I still am even if I'm not hovering around you like Bethany.

You are the one who pushes me away because you want to be your own person," she hissed at him.

"Things are going to change." Carver snarled. "For the better!" he stormed off.

Sabrina shook her head as she watched him go. It seemed that all their encounters ended with him storming away; she ran her fingers through her hair, before letting out a heavy sigh. "You are not as ready to be out of my shadow as you think brother," she said to herself before turning around.

She stopped in surprise when she saw the Australian standing there. Sabrina had been so focused on her brother that she'd forgotten the taller woman was still there; Lawson had been silent throughout the whole exchange.

"Sorry...I forgot you were still here," Sabrina said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"It's fine." Lawson spoke as she turned away. "Let's keep moving shall we?" The rogue didn't grace her with an answer, she simply followed.

And suddenly, without Hawke's attempts to make conversation, Lawson found the streets much quieter than they had previously been. It was odd; in the short amount of time that they'd know Hawke, the woman was always talking.

She was never as silent as she was now, as she walked alongside the XO.

"I have a sister." Lawson started up, just to fill the void, and to give the information Hawke craved. "A twin."

Sabrina reminded quiet even after that knowledge had been put out there. She was quiet for so long that Lawson almost felt embarrassed for trying to start a conversation; she wasn't one to force conversation, nor was she one to volunteer information.

Before she could get anywhere with mentally berating herself, or trying to tell herself that those problems were Hawke's to deal with, the rogue spoke.

"Bethany and Carver are twins," she said, breaking the silence. "Thank the Maker they only share the same birthday and not personality. I don't think I'd be able to deal with two Carvers," chuckling at the thought, though she was being completely serious.

One Carver Hawke in the world was more than enough.

"So, what's her name?" Sabrina asked, shifting her attention to the Australian.

"Oriana." Lawson supplied. "She's the younger one."

The rogue took that information. "Are you two close?" came the follow up question.

"No." Lawson answered. "We only reunited recently, Shepard... she helped me."

The younger woman hit her with a curious look. "Did...you and Oriana not live together? Or were you simply having a spat like Carver and I?" she asked, because of how oddly the woman said the information.

"No we didn't." Lawson answered. "We..." she paused. "We were separated at birth." it was the partial truth, Hawke didn't know. "Her family got into trouble... Shepard, Garrus and myself got them out."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'd have been a wreck if Bethany was ever taken from us as children," the shorter of the two admitted. "Hell, I'd probably still be a wreck. I can't envision my life without my sister in it.

But, it's good that you were able to help her and reconnect," she added with a grin. "Having a younger sister is fun, take my word for it," pointing at herself as she playfully boasted.

"Maybe." Lawson said, placing her hands together. "Maybe, once the war is over, we'll have the time. However, I know she is safe, and that puts my mind at rest so I can focus on Shepard's mission to stop the Collectors."

Sabrina let out a chuckle, smirking a bit as she did so. "Having things, people, to fight for...knowing that there's someone out there waiting for you...makes those impossibly daunting challenges seem all the more attainable," she said, her voice taking on an almost tender tone. "Fighting with people in mind...it gives you an edge, focus...the drive to see it done."

Lawson smiled as she stepped away from Hawke, surprised how far they have walked already. Just back outside the the Hanged Man. Slowly she turned to face Hawke properly before taking a few careful steps backwards.

"Miranda." she said.

"Eh?" Sabrina responded, giving the fair skinned woman a curious look. She almost looked like a puppy with her facial expression.

"My name." Miranda clarified. "Miranda Lawson."

Sabrina folded her arms across her stomach, bringing a finger up to her lips, and chewing on the tip of her glove covered finger. "Miranda," she said the name, testing it out on her tongue. A smile then spread across her face like an oil spill.

She then said something that the Australian did not understand.

"I"m sorry." Miranda touched the back of her ear, it was a habit, she noticed, a lot of people on the Normandy had when they heard something they didn't understand. "My translator isn't picking up what you're saying."

Hawke's eyes seemed to shine as she caught her lower lip between her teeth, as she smiled at the older woman. "I said, your name is beautiful," catching the XO off guard. "It really suits you," came the addition as she took a step closer to the foreigner.

"You'll have to forgive me...I've never been escorted back to a place before," sounding almost shy as she spoke. "I'm usually the one doing the escorting. I...I feel I should repay you in some way."

"There is no need." Miranda answered. "Shepard's word is final on the Normandy, what she says is usually done in good faith. She asked me to escort you home, so I did, the debt is to her, not me."

Hawke chuckled deep in her throat, as she looked at the woman. "And she will be repaid with lyrium that will get you all home," she pointed out. "But, you also performed a deed...so you are owed as well."

Before Miranda could protest further, Sabrina had closed the distance between them. Due to the height difference between them, she had to stand on her tip toes; which Hawke did not mind.

She then placed a soft, gentle kiss to the Australian's cheek; successfully halting any further protests from the older female. "Thank you," she whispered against the woman's skin.

Reality came back to Miranda as she took a step back. "I should go." she spoke, Shepard's age old line before quickly walking away.

"Good night Miranda."

The woman stopped for a moment, looking sideways for a moment, Hawke could just catch a ghost of a smile on her lips before she continued onward.

* * *

"That's it?" Cassandra asked, sounding more annoyed than angry. "The Shepherd was just one woman, a simple woman with resources we could only imagine to have." she crossed her arms. "The stories made her out to be a goddess."

Varric adjusted himself in his seat. "Well, I may have had something to do with that," he admitted rubbing at his head. "She wanted to be more myth than fact...I say I did my job right," smirking as he stood from his chair, earning a questioning gaze from the woman.

"Come now Seeker, you don't expect me to be able to tell you the entire tale of _'The Champion and The Shepherd'_ in just one sitting?" he wondered. "There is much to tell about my dear friends, and I need to be well rested enough to tell the true tale in it's entirety."

"No." she snapped. "You're telling me the whole story. Start to finish, how the Champion became the woman she is today, and how the Shepherd, a woman only searching for a way home stayed in Kirkwall all the way to the very end when she had her own problems."

"And I will Seeker...but not tonight," he told her firmly. "Besides, you need time to process everything I've told you.

See if you want to...withdraw and earlier accusations," he hinted at, as he looked up at the woman. "To make it easy on you, I'll even stay here...there are bedrooms and I've had my people keep this place in good shape over the years."

She pondered over it for a moment, before agreeing. "Fine, we will continue in the morning." she took a step back before walking out of the room and building. She stopped when the doors closed behind her, taking a moment to herself.

"You three are to guard this manor," she ordered. "Make sure the dwarf does not leave the manor, or you will all answer for it!" came the warning to which they all saluted to before standing guard.

With that done, she began strolling down the street. Rolling around the information Varric had told her concerning the Champion and the Shepherd. It matched nothing of what the stories said.

A world out there in a place called the Galaxy, the Citadel, magics without the connection to the Fade. Slowly she walked further away from the building. The place was silent as she moved further and further away. Then she heard something, quickly changing her direction, catching the shadow of someone walking away, the glow of red standing out.

Could that have been...she shook her head. "Get yourself together Cassandra...your eyes are playing tricks on you," she told herself. "No doubt from Varric's outlandish tale," she muttered to herself.

The sooner she got the full tale, the better. The Champion and the Shepherd had planned the Mage-Templar War, she was sure of it.

* * *

A/N: Now we're caught up to what I have stockpiled. Chapters 8 through to 12 or so are an absolute mess that are begging to be edited. Maybe 8 is done... or maybe we're still writing it... no... damn can't remember... we just keep jumping.


	8. Chapter 8

"No, what you told me can't be right," Cassandra stated, as she stood before Varric. Having just listened to him give a quick summary of the final preparations made before their group ventured into the Deep Roads. "The Champion, and her siblings, along with the Shepherd came to Kirkwall to spread subversion against the Chantry."

"But, you claim that wasn't the case," tossing her arms up in the air, before pacing slowly back and forth before the dwarf. "The Champion just happened to have dealings with the qunari, joined forces with a blood mage, a rebel Warden, Shepherd and her companions...and for what? Coin? Lyrium to go home?!"

Varric gave her a sympathetic look. "Maybe it's not as simple as you imagine Seeker," he pointed out, gesturing towards her.

"Simple? Do I need to remind you what your friend did?" she countered. She then stabbed her finger at him. "Do I need to tell you how many lives have been lost, how many more will be lost?"

Her hands balled up into fists. "You cannot sit there and tell me she is innocent," she stated strongly, looking the marksman in the eye as she spoke.

"I...don't know if "innocent" is the right word exactly..." he pointed out, as he shifted in his seat.

"She must have known!" Cassandra insisted, grasping at straws. "Somehow the Champion and the Shepherd knew what was down there. That's why she wanted to join your expedition. Gathering lyrium for the Shepherd was just an excuse."

Varric shook his head. "No. None of us knew. If we had..." he trailed. Had they known what they would have encountered, they would have avoided the trip altogether.

The dark haired woman seemed skeptical. "Is that so?" she asked, as she spread her arms out, shrugging her shoulders in the process. "Then tell me your version of what happened on this expedition." Gesturing towards him to continue.

He sat forward in his seat. "Well, we entered the Deep Roads as planned. But we didn't get far..."

* * *

"So this is the Deep Roads," Varric commented. "Andraste's tits! Our ancestors lived here! Willingly?!"

Bartrand grumbled before approaching Hawke and his brother. "We've hit a snag. A road block," he informed them. "Go see of you and your group can take care of it." He ordered them.

"We didn't bring blasting caps." Shepard grumbled as she followed Varric. "We didn't think we need them." she looked at Liara who was following her, hood up and scarf around her lower face, her Omni-Tool running on silent so her translator was working for the entire team. The dwarves just took her for another rogue. The same went for a Miranda, half saw her as a mage, the other couldn't place fingers. While everyone else asked Shepard where her sword was. It was laughable at best.

"I doubt causing an explosion would be a wise choice," Varric informed them. "Ignoring the threat of being crushed under rubble, we don't want to chance waking up whatever creatures live down here if it can be avoided."

Anders sighed. "This is why I left the Wardens," he stated, placing a hand to his brow. "I hate the blighted Deep Roads."

"Er...I hate to add to your burdens, my friends, but I fear I must," Bodahn remarked as he approached the group, standing before them.

Hawke arched an eyebrow. "What is wrong, Bodahn?" she asked of the merchant. He was a good man, and she happened to have a fondness for he and his son because they were such good people. Weird, but good.

"I fear my boy, Sandal, wandered off. He's somewhere in those passages right now!" he proclaimed with worry. "I beg you, keep an eye out for him. He just...doesn't understand danger like he should."

"Easy, Bodahn. We'll be sure and keep an eye out for Sandal while looking for another route," Sabrina assured the bearded dwarf, to which he nodded gratefully. "Well, we best be moving quickly then."

"Some of us should stay here." Shepard looked at them, they were too large of a group to move quickly. Not to mention she was having a hard time keeping Kasumi's attention, the woman kept flickering in and out between the shadows. Lifting things, appreciating art. Shepard was sure she had mused more than once on trying to bring a wall carving or two back."Hawke, Liara, Varric, with me." she decided. "We'll look for the boy, the rest of you can figure out how to get around this block."

"Understood Commander." Miranda said while Kasumi flickered back into existence and saluted. The group then left the campsite, heading into the adjacent hallway. Liara gasped.

"By the Goddess," she breathed as she entered into the massive room. The ceiling towering for miles above them; the architectural elements. It was enough to send her brain into overload, thinking of how they made this.

Varric smirked. "Impressed Sapphire?" he asked her, a hint of pride in his voice. "The dwarves of old built many impressive things like this. Can you imagine before the darkspawn came how much this place must have thrived!"

Yes she could, but she doubted her imagination did it any justice. "And it still stands today, even if parts of it are ruined," she commented. "How far do these tunnels extend?"

"No one really knows for sure," came the truthful answer. "But, they extend all the way from Orzammar to the Free Marches. Hell, they probably run all beneath Theadas and beyond!"

"Once the largest trade route in the world, now nothing more than a breeding ground for the vile and diseased," Hawke quipped, as they found another opening to take. She stopped them when she heard noises, drawing her blades in the process. "I think you two are about to encounter your first darkspawn."

"If we're lucky, they'll be nothing more like the Husks or Thorian Creepers." Shepard grumbled as she pulled her HMWSR X Sniper Rifle off her back and extended the barrel before looking down the sights. "Bloody hell it's dark." she grumbled before playing with the settings.

"What about the Rachini?" Liara asked, Shepard shuddered at the thought.

"Vile things." she snarled, as she followed after Hawke.

A group of Genlocks in their path. Their attention quickly drawn to the new comers and they snarled and growled; flailing their swords around before charging. Sabrina wasted no time, driving into the fry and cutting two of them down, with lighting fast blows to the throat.

Blood spraying outward before they collapsed to the ground, gurgling on their own blood.

Those who didn't approach her, went towards the rest of her companions. Varric had Bianca out and was already getting to work on plowing them down. "How many have you got Hawke?" he shouted his question as he ran one through with the bayonet on the front of his crossbow.

"Not exactly what I thought... I was expecting more glowing parts." Liara admitted as her biotics glowed in response, a singularity field formed close to Hawke as Shepard responded in her own kind, an Unstable Warp slammed into the field detonating and ripping whatever captured Darkspawn there was a part. "Well, they go down like Husks."

"Easy pickings then." Shepard smirked as she brought up her rifle and fired, and echoing bang in the cavern and a hurlock's head exploded.

"You do realize..." Sabrina began, as she fought off her darkspawn. "That these..." Evading an attack. "Are the weakest...darkspawn right?" she asked, she she dug the blade into the creature's gut.

More monstrous screams were heard. There was another group on it's way, heading toward the stairs; she twirled her blades once before charging off.

"Then let's make easy work of them, shall we?" Shepard commented as she sent a Cyro Blast forward as Liara followed through with a biotic throw, ice being scattered everywhere.

"They look...so humanoid," Liara commented as she inspected the slain body of one. Looking at it up close, getting a smell of it's scent, made her want to vomit. "I can understand some why you all mistook Garrus for one of these creatures."

The two natives letting out laughs.

"Surprisingly, they aren't that different from humans," Sabrina informed her. "My cousin who defeated the blight back home in Ferelden wrote me and told me that while in Orzammar, he discovered the darkspawn take women of all races and rape them, while forcing them to eat the flesh of their comrades.

Both tainting and impregnating the women, to create a new generation of darkspawn."

"Yeah, okay, I think I just threw up in my mouth," Varric stated, sounding quite serious about it while Liara herself had paled several shades, not that I could be seen beneath the hood.

"Still, they went down like any other human." Shepard said as she inspected her gun. "Blow their brains out and even the undead can't keep walking."

"But if they are the weakest..."

"The same goes for any creature, Liara, we know that." Shepard said as she ejected something out of her gun and reached into her belt, pulling out something and sliding it in. "Here we go, I knew I still had the all the right mods stashed away somewhere." she hit something on the gun and there was a slight tinkering sound as it registered. "I got the High Explosive Rounds." she grinned. "At the cost of this overheating after every shot, I can blow anything and everything up." she grinned like a madwoman, her green eyes flashing red just once.

"Great, just what we need, two women who like bloodbaths," he commented, earning grins from both Hawke and Shepard. "Well, we better keep this show moving," said as they continued onward.

The group took the bridge that the second set of darkspawn charged up. Walking further into the tunnels they spotted a large opening off to the right; Sabrina felt that it was worth checking out, considering it might be a way around the cave in that the rest of the group was facing.

It turned out to be a dead end...nothing more than a chest in a collapsed room that neither rogues could get open.

"I can call for Kasumi," Liara offered, bringing up her Omni-Tool without worry with just Hawke and Varric around. "She could have it opened in no time."

Suddenly the group heard hissing, and the familiar sound of spiders descending...familiar for the natives at least. They were all quick to draw their weapons; carefully making their way to the rooms entrance and exit.

"Maybe you can contact her after we've dealt with this infestation," Sabrina quipped with a smirk on her face. As she quickly drew a flask and kicked it at a group of five spiders; immediately stunning them, leaving them defenceless for the next few seconds. "These pests are too smart for their own good.

Setting traps for their prey," a grin adorning her face and she literally leapt the twenty foot distance into the fray-bringing her blades down and deep into the skull of two dazed spiders.

"Rachni?" Liara asked ask as she drew her SMG, Shepard had pulled out her pistol and was prepping a Cyro Blast.

"No, doesn't look that way, just... generic spiders." She responded before throwing the freezing spell forward before slamming the frozen beast with a powerful warp, shattering it for the tech explosion she had grown to love.

"Then we can be grateful Tali isn't here, she hates spiders."

"Her fault for loving the shotgun." Shepard said as she emptied her clip before slapped a fresh one in.

"I've never seen spiders this size before!" the asari cried out as she sent a shock wave out, knocking several of them back, before hitting them with an overload.

Varric was off to the side, lining up a pinning shot to take out four of the creatures at once. "Bianca, baby, introduce yourself!" he called out before firing off an arrow. So powerful that all four ended up pinned against the wall; blood and guts leaking from their dying forms.

Not long after that, did another cry echo out over the battlefield. From the ceiling falling the biggest spider than any in attendance had seen.

"Is that a Giant Spider?!" Hawke shrieked in surprise, as she dodge the fangs of a normal sized arachnid. "Heh...what are the odds," hissing at the spider she was fighting nicked her with it's fang along her wrist.

"The odds?" Shepard barked, sounding pissed off herself. "You're fighting with Commander Fucking Shepard." she said as she pulled out her Sniper Rifle off her back and started moving backwards to get more ground.

"High Explosive..." Liara repeated before her blue eyes went wide. "Hawke! Get out of the way!" she shouted out the rogue as Shepard toyed with the sniper's settings.

Sabrina barely had time to hit the round before something was whizzing past her before a shrill cry was heard; then she had guts reigning down on her person. "Well...that's certainly one way to kill a Giant Spider," Varric commented in awe of the damage done from the Commander's crossbow. "I think Bianca might be jealous," he added as he fondled his weapon.

Sabrina pulled herself to her feet, casually flicking the creature's brains from her person. "Don't tell me you're thinking of replacing Bianca, after she's been nothing but good to you," the younger woman teased with a grin.

Words earning a laugh from her shorter companion. "Perish the thought...Bianca is the only woman for me," he assured her, as he inspected his weapon for damage. "I think she may have gotten scratched."

Liara was groaning, as she looked at her body, that was sporting spider guts and blood. "Shepard," she chastised her bondmate, as a full body shudder ripped its way through her. The information broker didn't even like to be covered in human guts; it felt, and smelt, horrible, and it would take days to get the scent out of clothing. "Goddess, I am going to need a long bath after this," Liara complained as she continued to knock spider guts off her person.

Sabrina just laughed. "But make sure that you don't have any open wounds and you'll be fine," she assured the asari. "If the darkspawn blood enters into your veins, they will be nothing we can do short of killing you to stop the corruption."

The information causing Liara to give a squeak as she rapidly checked over her person. "Relax, Blueberry, you're a distance fighter like myself, so I wouldn't worry too much," he informed her.

"Even then." Shepard knew she didn't have a rupture on her suit, and if she really felt the need, her helmet was back with the others. "I'm going to need at least two showers after standard decontamination." she shivered. "Then maybe sit in a bathtub for a week."

"Wait..." Liara stopped them, feeling her biotics react to something. "Do you feel that Shepard?" she asked looking around. "Something is drawing out my biotics... like I'm being exposed to..."

"Element Zero." Shepard finished the line for her as she brought up arm to summon her Omni-Tool, but stopped midway. "Over there, look." she noticed a glow on the wall.

They were...trees. Made completely out of Lyrium, as they filled the path that they walked, lighting the way.

Liara walked forward, pressing her hand to them. "Such high concentrations," she remarked, as she brought her Omni-Tool up and performed a scan. "My scanner is off the charts," informing the Commander. "Odd that EDI couldn't pick these up from the surface, but... this is pure Element Zero, we won't even have to bother with the conversion!"

Shepard nodded at this. At least that was one problem taken care of.

"Anders said, these trees grown all throughout the Deep Roads," Varric voiced. "Deposits so rich, that they've become one with everything surrounding it...powerful enough to warp these very tunnels into something different."

"Not to mention preserve them as well as memories," Hawke added, which Varric nodded in agreement. "We should keep moving. We'll have time to collect your samples after we've found Sandal and found a way around the collapse."

Liara and Shepard nodded from that. They pulled themselves away and continued on to the next room; where they encountered upon a curious sight. Bodies of darkspawn of all classes littering the ground...with a dwarven boy standing calmly among them-blood staining his person.

"Well, I'll be a nug's uncle. Isn't that Bodahn's boy?" Varric inquired as they stood on a slightly more elevated level.

Sabrina nodded before the descending the stairs. Sandal smiled as she drew closer. "Hello," he greeted eerily as his silver eyes seemed to pierce the dark.

"Impressive." Liara muttered as she moved closer to the Ogre. "I didn't know he was a mage." she said to Hawke while Shepard moved closer to the beast. She held out her right arm as her Omni-Tool formed, shifting it's appearance into the Omni-Blade before she smashed it into the frozen beast's gut, shattering it with a powerful Overload.

"One less to worry about." Shepard muttered.

"Sandal here is no mage," Hawke responded. "Dwarves have been exposed to lyrium for so long that they no longer capable of channelling magic," came the information.

"Boom," the pale haired boy said.

"You did all this by yourself Sandal?" Hawke inquired.

He nodded before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tune stone. "Enchantment," he quipped happily.

Varric nodded. "And the now broken Ogre?" He asked curiously.

"Not enchantment," Sandal answered.

"I don't understand." Liara asked. "If he has no magic and you people do not have the technology how could have this been accomplished?"

"Enchantment!" Sandal exclaimed happily, causing Hawke and Varric to laugh.

"It's as the boy is saying, enchantment," Varric pointed out. "What he has in his hand is a rune, powerful little things."

"And, in Sandal's hands extremely powerful," Sabrina added. "We can use these to strengthen your armour."

He grinned more at the thought of enchanting. "Enchantment?" Saying it as a question now.

"We have to see." Shepard said. "Anyway we should get him back. The others might have found a way around."

"And the Element Zero." Liara added. "Now we can finally go home and get the Shadow Broker."

"Sandal, your father's worried about you. The way back is clear," Hawke told him.

He nodded. "Bye bye," he said before walking off.

Liara looked worried which Varric noticed. "Relax Blueberry. In case you forgot, he did all of this on his own," he reminded her.

"It's not that." Liara shook her head. "Learning disability aside. He reminds me of myself when I was very young."

Hawke gave a shrug as they continued on further. "Bodahn said he found him in the Deep Roads as a babe," she informed them. "Could be the reason he's so simple...even though dwarves are immune to the effects of being exposed to lyrium."

"What, you mean you were simple like our boy?" Varric teased, although there was curiosity there as well.

"No no!" Liara blushed. "When I was younger I'd always wander off despite my mother's commands. Always got myself into trouble." she smiled to herself. "To a similar extent Sandal just did. But after fifty years of doing archaeological digs you learn to adapt and protect yourself."

"Until you find yourself caught in a Prothean Stasis Bubble had had to wait for your Knight in Shining Armour to save you." Shepard joked.

That caused the natives to pause. "Wait...you're fifty years old?" Hawke asked, actually moving to inspect the woman, getting into her personal space. Causing Liara to flush.

"You certainly don't have the body of one," she pointed out.

"You are mistaken." Liara answered as she did her best to follow Hawke's movements. "I'm one hundred and eight. I am still nothing but a child to my people."

"In human terms." Shepard joked. "Put her around..." she paused. "19 or so, just legal to drink in my home country."

"Andraste's tits! Are you like Flemeth and not telling us?!" Varric commented, eyebrows shooting up.

Hawke thought on it for a few moments. "So, if you're a hundred and eight...and she isn't," pointing at Shepard. "Isn't this some type of child sex?"

"Goddess no!" Liara was flustered. "We asari can live for up to a thousand years. There are others nearly seven or eight times my age who take on human lovers." she was waving her hands quickly, hood daring to slip off. "I mean... ah." she stopped when Shepard placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Liara, breathe." She ordered before looking at the other. "When it comes down to it, a relationship with an asari or any long-lived species; age does not mean anything." she smiled as her gloved hand slipped into the shadow of Liara's hood.

Varric chuckled. "Come on Hawke. Lets go on ahead and give these two a moment," he suggested, tilting his head further up the pathway.

Sabrina nodded and the pair walked off, giving the asari and the human a moment.

Shepard smiled softly before pushing the hood back, running her fingers across the back of her crests slightly while using her other hand to pull down the scarf. "I've missed you, you know?"

The blue skinned woman flushed softly. "I've missed you too," she confessed.

Shepard quickly gave Liara a chaste kiss before pulling back, smiling. "Come, before Varric and Hawke start making stories."

"Too late Goldie Locks!" came Varric's amused shout. Liara chuckled as she looked down, still gripping Shepard's elbows. She looked down as Shepard smiled softly.

"After the Shadow Broker?" Shepard asked, Liara nodded.

"After we get him." she answered as she let got. "Let's go."

* * *

"By the Goddess," Liara breathed out in shock as her eyes were drawn to the ceiling of the large room they had recently entered. A powerful roar greeting them, enough to cause their entire bodies and the room to shake. "Is that a...a..."

"Dragon!" Sabrina shouted as she quickly drew her blades. "Things as are about to heat up!" she said with a bright grin.

The dwarf chuckled as he pulled his weapon out. "You are too much Hawke," he quipped before something similar to...squeaks and purrs filling their ears. From the other side of the room hatchlings appearing in their field of vision.

"Get to cover!" Shepard shouted as she and Liara quickly scattered, realizing that there was little to no cover in this massive room. "Shit!" she shouted as she tripped over the uneven ground and crashed against the ground, her rifle skittering away from her.

"Shepard!" Liara shouted as she threw out a Singularity Field to stop the dragonlings from surrounding her.

"How are there dragons?!" Shepard shouted. "They're myth! Just myth!"

"Yeah, uh-huh," Sabrina responded dully as she danced with a hatchling. Noticing others heading her way through her peripherals. "A myth that's trying to rip you into pieces with it's teeth and well as char-grill your body.

And technically, I think this would be a Mature Dragon," she pointed out as she finally managed to find a soft spot in the younglings thick skin; her blade piercing it's heart, and granting it a swift demise. Its siblings didn't seem to like that, as they made their displeasure known through strong snaps of their teeth and heated flames from their mouths.

They managed to catch the rogue in the shoulder. She jumped away, quickly patting out the flames on her armour; getting back into her fighting stance and calling them over to her.

"Just where exactly do you hail from Shepard that there exists no dragons?!" Varric shouted as he ran to a new location, having gotten himself surrounded by the hatchlings. Individually, they were a piece of cake, but in a group, they were a pain in the ass.

Not to mention, the father was still flying around, having yet to land.

"Earth! From Earth!" Shepard shouted as she scrambled up to her feet and grabbed her rifle before sprinting across the room before jumping behind a pile of rubble. "Dragons are stories we just tell kids! _They don't exist!" _she started firing at the hatchlings, her quick shots taking them down in one or two hits, but there were still several of them.

"I have to agree with Shepard. Even on Thessia we don't have dragons." Liara said as she fired her SMG in short controlled bursts while using her biotics to help keep a distance away from them.

A smirk came onto his face as he downed another hatchling. "I think they're in denial Hawke," he said to his friend.

Before the tattooed female could respond another powerful roar filled the room, before the Drake landed. Apparently, it did not like seeing it's young slaughtered. Immediately, it let forth high intensity flames from it's mouth-panning it's head across the battlefield at it's enemies.

Varric and Hawke both scrambling to avoid the fire.

Once the flames had ended, the dragon used it's tail. Turning around quickly in a full three-sixty, knocking both Shepard and Liara from out of their hiding places; the two women groaning from the force that they were struck with. The side of the Commander's armour cracked beneath the sheer force from the animal.

"Shepard!" Liara shouted as the Commander sat back up but didn't take the time to get her bearings straight as she grabbed her weapon and started moving for cover again firing from the hip as a distraction more than anything as she activated her Tech Armour before jumping behind another piece of rubble.

"Hawke! What's the best way to take this thing down?" she shouted before breaking cover again to fire a Cyro Blast."

"It's scales seem to repel my biotics." Liara said. "Or maybe it's the sheer size of the dragon." she reasoned. "I haven't tried any spatial distortion techniques."

"This thing has _very_ thick skin," Sabrina responded, as she dodged the Mature Dragon's claws. "It's scales can withstand a lot of magical attacks and it's skull is just as thick.

The best way to handle a dragon is to wear it down. Attack it enough and we'll find it's weak spot. It will do everything is can to protect that spot," came the answer, as the dragon reared up on its hind legs, fanning it's wings.

Knocking the entire group back with the power released on the group.

Shepard fell back and heard her kinetic shields fail with it's telltale echo. Quickly she pushed herself up over her shoulder to get back onto her feet as she grabbed her Mattock and raised it back up trying to get a read on the Dragon. No amount of N7 training had prepared her for this, then again it was no different that Reaper Saren.

Well maybe, the Dragon was immune to a biotic lift, Reaper Saren wasn't...

She quickly switched weapons, ejecting the ammo mod and catching it before pocketing it back on her tactical belt before looking down the scope. The beast kept moving, but time would never slow, never make things easier.

She just needed to guess, and fire.

"What's the usual weak spot?" she shouted loudly as she moved backwards slowly, trying to skirt around the battle while Liara kept peppering the dragon with her SMG.

The dragon let out a hiss before taking off into the air. Knocking them back once more before taking to the air; tiny roars filling the air, alerting the group that more hatchling were on their way back into the fray.

The mother dragon disappearing into the rafters, away from sight.

"Bug bites." Shepard said as she pulled her trigger, rifle kicking against her shoulders as she down hatchlings before they got close to Hawke. "Liara keep on it." she unlatched her pistol and kicked it over to the asari who picked it up. "Just keep peppering it like an armature!" she commanded as she worked on her Omni-Tool. "I'll keep aiming for the head." she added.

The dragon certainly wasn't making it easy for her. It was constantly moving, hiding among the pillars of the ceiling; and, had the nerve to shoot down fireballs at them.

Broken stone and dust filling the air; flames littering the floor along with corpses and blood.

"Shit," Sabrina hissed as she dived out of the way of falling rubble; the dragon being so heavy that it was breaking chunks of the ceiling off. "Why can't these things ever go down easy?" She wondered aloud.

"Because if they did my stories wouldn't be nearly as entertaining," the dwarf answered with a chuckle, as he took aim and shot at the Dragon's underbelly.

Successfully making the shot, earning a cry from the beast.

Realization dawned on the rogue, who was the only one who couldn't attack the dragon while it was up in the air. "That's it! Shepard!" She shouted, earning the redhead's attention. "Aim for its underbelly. It's not as thick as the rest of its skin."

"Understood!" Shepard shouted as she swapped the ammo mod back into the rifle as she looked up the scope. "Firing a high impact shot!" she shouted before pulling the trigger. An explosion echoed up in the rafters as the dragon roared once more. Shepard's rifle wailing it's own song as it tried to cool down.

"I think I got it?" Shepard stated. The dragon's body started falling toward the ground.

Sabrina took off running. "Yeah you certainly did...now get out the way!" She shouted as she scrambled to get out of the fast approaching limp body.

"Move it Liara!" Shepard shouted as she waved at the asari to get away, Liara started to run sprinting pass Shepard before the Commander could move herself.

"Hurry up Varric...you don't need to be any shorter!" Sabrina teased the dwarf, as he trailed a few feet behind her.

They had just managed to make it behind cover before the lifeless body hit the ground. Strong tremors shaking the ground, as even more dust and rubble was shot into the air, not to mention a heavy cloud of dust filling the air.

"Shepard! Blueberry! You two okay?" the marksman voice called out to the two women, coughs racking his body from the dust.

Liara found herself sinking to her knees, her breathing coming out in hard pants. "By...by the Goddess," she said between breaths. "I never thought I would see a dragon, a real live dragon." she bowed her head slightly, just trying to grasp the thought as Shepard came out of the smoke, coughing and trying to wave it away.

"The only dragons I like... are the Edmonton Blood Dragons." Shepard declared. "They don't try to kill me." she sunk on the ground as she looked over her armour, trying to figure out what was damaged. "Sports Teams never try to kill me."

The two natives approached the women. "Sports...team?" Sabrina echoed curiously. "What is that?"

"You going to be okay there Blueberry?" Varric asked, showing concern as he tucked his weapon away.

"I'm going to be fine." Liara said as Shepard lathered the cracks in her armour with some form of gel. "Just... surprised."

"You don't have sports teams here?" Shepard seemed more concerned about that entirely. "Well you wouldn't have the EUCC... but what about organized sports? Soccer? Football? Hockey?" she asked them.

The rogue just gave her a blank look. "EUCC? Sock-her? Football? Hockey? ...What are these things?

Do they involve blood and people dying?" the younger woman asked the Commander, who was simply stunned that this planet had no sports.

"No hockey... they have no hockey..." Shepard started mumbling as she began to pace back and forth, Liara shook her head before turning to Hawke.

"I can't believe, dragons... they are just mere myth, to all the races." she said.

The two natives just shared glances with one another. "I think they're having breakdowns," the dwarf remarked, gesturing toward Liara who was still on the ground.

Sabrina tilted her head toward the Commander. "Or a meltdown in Shepard's case," she responded. "She hasn't stopped talking about this Hockey," before shifting her attention back to Liara. "This is the Dragon Age Serah.

They were thought to have been extinct during the Steel Age, hunted down by the dragon hunters of Nevarra. Up until the attack of a High Dragon and the end of the previous age, people believed that to be true. Hence why our current age is the Dragon Age," she explained.

"Ages are named due to world altering things that occur within the 99th year of the current age," Varric added in. Liara listened attentively, but Shepard was still going on about the mysterious Hockey.

"How are your burns doing by the way?" she asked Liara, both she and the Commander had taken the creatures fire a few times...as well as it's tail and claws. Shepard had finally stopped pacing and going on about her sport and brushed a crack in her armour gently. It didn't seem fixable, but Shepard could perform unusual feats.

"Shepard has faced hordes of Vorcha and their flamethrowers before, a little fire won't do harm to her armour." Liara said she watched Shepard fawn over her armour. "Everything is diamond coated." she added while looking at the angry burns on her blue skin where her clothing had burned away. She covered them with a little bit of Medi-Gel. "We will be fine."

"I'm surprised that worked." Shepard groaned. "If killing Saren was that easy..."

As usual, the two natives were at a loss as to what, or who, the Commander was speaking of. The blonde shook his head in amusement. "I'm going to go take a look around," he announced before walking off, manoeuvring his way around the still warm corpse of the dragon.

Sabrina stayed behind, focused intently on the redhead. "Are you going to explain more about that Hockey Serah?" she asked of the taller woman, earning a chuckle from Liara.

"Look at that Shepard...someone who is genuinely interested in the sport," the information broker teased.

"One day!" Shepard pointed at Liara." Once we're back, and all this shit is over and done with I'm taking you to a game! A goddamn home game!"

"Hey! I found something!" the marksman shouted to them, interrupting sports talk for another day. "Up the stairs!"

"This goes right where we want it to," he said before turning his attention to Hawke, who came to stand next to him, with Shepard and Liara behind them. "Let's go back and tell Bartrand. He'll be so pleased," shaking his head in the process.

* * *

"Bartrand!" Varric called out, earning his brother's attention. "We found a way around your damned cave in!" he and the others moving to stand before the man.

The bearded dwarf gave a nod. "It's about time! We'll move out when everyone is ready." Bartrand stated before going back to his own men. Kasumi looked up from her fire.

"Jeez, Shep, Liara, you look like shit." she said, casual as ever, Shepard just snarled.

"No shit Sherlock." Shepard responded in kind.

The thief only giggled in response. "What did you do, fall through the floor and come out on the other side?" she teased the Commander, eyes shining beneath the cover of her hood.

"We ran into a couple darkspawn, a giant spider, and a mature dragon," Hawke answered with a shrug, as if it was all routine...and for herself and her companions it was. "I think the dragon threw them both for loops.

They claim dragons do not exist where they hail from," she pointed out, getting curious looks sent their way by Merrill and Anders.

"First you all get here by way of a flying star metal ship, and now you claim there are no dragons where you come from?" the Grey Warden began, focusing on the two battered women. "Next you'll be telling us there are no demons where you come from," he added letting out a sigh.

"Goldie Locks seemed to be bothered greatly that we have no things called 'Sports' here," Varric informed the male mage.

The rogue nodded. "She seemed really distressed there is no Hockey...though she has yet to explain what it is," she said.

"Hockey?" Miranda said as she looked at Shepard. "I should have known, you seem to be that type of patriot."

"Damn straight I am!" Shepard snapped as she threw herself down in front of the fire beside Liara. Meanwhile the Dalish elf was observing Liara. She seemed to be struggling with herself on if she should ask her question or not. Eventually, she just blurted it out.

"Liara, why...why do you make those dark orbs instead of freezing your enemies like Serah Shepard?"

Liara glanced at the curious elf who started to fumble.

"You know. Those floating dark orbs that make the Darkspawn float around it, until Shepard throws one of her blue fireballs at it and everything explodes..." Liara raised her hand to stop her, smiling beneath her cover.

"That is because I am a pure biotic, unlike Shepard. Who is also a technician." she explained slowly. Hoping the elf could understand. "I can control Dark Energy to create Mass Effect fields. Those fields allow me to preform my "spells".

Technicians, like Shepard. Can freeze, incinerate and overload enemies much like how you and Bethany do."

Merrill took that information, allowing it to float through her mind. "So...you're saying Shepard is more of an Elemental Mage then?" The elf offered after a few moments of pondering. "And you are more of a...Battle Mage?"

"Maybe? I do not understand these terms." Liara answered. "Back home, in...Alliance... terms. I would be an Adept, Shepard is a Sentinel, and if my knowledge is correct. Operative Lawson also falls into the Sentinel category while Kasumi is an Infiltrator."

"You are correct." Miranda said.

Sabrina just chuckled. "In truth, I see Shepard as more of a Battle Mage, since she likes to run into the fray," she remarked. "And a Battle Mage is basically a Mage who isn't afraid to get into the battle but also practices self preservation," Informing the blue skinned woman.

"Survival is just human instinct." Shepard muttered as she toyed with her Omni-Tool, she was trying to get some more information installed but it just wouldn't take all the data. It already took two to run her Tech Shields at the specs she wanted.

"Maybe." Liara answered Hawke's statement. "How we fight back home is vastly different than how you fight here. More bullets, less swords."

"So I've noticed. You all tend to be distance fighters," the rogue said. She tend looked sheepish as she let out a chuckle. "Forgive me but your way of fighting seems...cowardly to me.

You kill your enemies from afar. Why? It's more more satisfying to be up close...be in your enemies face and letting your face be the last they see."

"Heavy Weapons." Kasumi quipped.

"Heavy Weapons." Miranda parroted.

"Heavy Weapons." Shepard answered. "The last thing you want it to be in front of the wrong end of a Grenade Launcher. I've been there, it's not fun."

"Why cut a man's head off if you can blow it off from 200 metres with a pistol anyway?" Kasumi said. "It makes everything so much cleaner."

Sabrina gave a shrug. "I guess it might be a rogue thing then...or a me thing," giving a light chuckle,

"Alright everyone, let's move out!" Bartrand declared, signalling for the whole group to get a move on. Shepard and Liara both rose to their feet, while Sabrina took care of putting out the fire.

They then began following after Bartrand.

* * *

"In my younger years. I would have killed to be able to study a place like this." Liara said as she looked around the ruins, as the expedition moved along the path that Hawke, Shepard, Varric and herself had found for Bartrand.

"The stories buried here, there must be countless, just waiting to be rediscovered." she paused when she heard Shepard chuckle. "Yet here I am not as an archaeologist, but as a scavenger."

"Arc...key...all..." Varric tried to pronounce but couldn't. "Ah forget it, scavenger I know, but the other term I'm at a loss for."

"In short." Kasumi spoke up. "Liara studies old ruins for a living." Before vanishing from sight when she spotted a treasure chest.

Liara nodded. "I've dedicated nearly fifty years of my life studying the mysteries of those who came before us. The Protheans."

"They existed over fifty thousand years ago." Shepard said. "They fell to our blight. The Reapers."

"And you go and study what was left of their culture?" Sabrina guessed. "Looking at where they used to live and...compare it to your homes?"

"In a way. The Protheans were a mysterious race, and up until the Battle of the Citadel we believed they created the Mass Relays and the Citadel itself. I studied them to try to figure out their culture." she stopped. "That was, until I met Commander Shepard. Now with the truth of the Reapers out and swept away, I am seen as nothing more than a conspiracy artist. I had to change professions."

"Wait..." Anders held up a hand. "Fifty years? You barely look a day over twenty."

"Ah yes, Blueberry here ages much slower than we do," the dwarf spoke up with an amused smirk on his lips.

The rogue leaned toward the male Mage. "She's technically 108...but ignore the huge age difference between her and the Commander," she said in a playful tone, causing the asari to flush. Her gaze then shifted back to the woman in question.

"Who knows, being around all this lyrium, you might get to see an event play out," Hawke comments with a shrug.

"Forget that a moment!" Anders exclaimed. "Can someone explain to me how she 108 and we are NOT calling her an Abomination for that?!"

"The asari are a long lived race." Miranda said, sounding bored. "They can live up to a thousand years."

"Humans are one of the shorter lived races." Kasumi added. "We...well...not you guys...average out to about 150 years."

"If left to natural causes I am expected to live half as long as that again and Shepard, being partly bio-synthetic, could live even longer than that." Miranda continued.

"Wow...that is a very long time," the Blood Mage spoke up. "My people used to be immortal until they began staying in the presence of shemlens," came the statement.

"Shemlens?" Kasumi parroted, looking at the tattooed elf.

Merrill flushed in embarrassment. "It's what we refer to humans as," she answered.

"It means, Quick Children," Hawke clarified. "To elves when we died we were nothing more than infants or babes to them."

"The same could be said for my people, but we have adapted." Liara said. "We focus more on the now than the eventualities." she smiled beneath her hood as Shepard pulled her in closer.

The marksman let out a throaty laugh. "Best words to live by all around," he agreed. "We may die, but our stories will live on.

By the stone may we never be forgotten!" He added.

The Grey Warden observed Shepard and Liara. "Wait...you two are...your sleeping with a...a...

"Asari." Shepard told Anders rather curtly. "Doctor Liara T'Soni here is an asari." she said almost flirtatiously as her hand disappeared up the shadow of Liara's good.

"The Commander stated without room for argument," Varric narrated.

Sabrina snickered. "Before caressing the older woman's face suggestively," she teased.

"As the angry mage fumed in the corner." Kasumi finished.

"Fuming the same way he did when Hawke turned him down," Varric added with a chuckle.

"Now this sounds like a better story then when Shepard saved Liara from a... what was it?" Kasumi looked at the scientist. "A volcano?"

The asari burying her face in her hands in embarrassment. "Goddess..." She breathed out.

The dwarf chuckled. "Indeed it is quite the hilarious tale," he assure Kasumi. "Anders here isn't Chuckles type if you catch my drift."

"If it's any consolation prize. I set the volcano off." Shepard said with a chuckle before looking at Anders. "So Grey Warden. If this goes sour and I'm stuck here for a little longer. Want to meet my team?"

"And encounter more...'people'," saying the word sarcastically. "Like her? No thanks. I'd rather be forced to attend a party with nothing but Templars as guests." He stated firmly, as he folded his arms over his chest.

"And I thought only Hawkes brother was so..." The elf trailed trying to come up with a phrase to describe Anders.

"Xenophobic?" Miranda answered. "That's the word you are looking for."

"No no...I'm not sure what that word even means, but...well he's a tit monkey," the Dalish finally settled upon.

Earning a laugh from Sabrina. "Tit monkey," she repeated the phrase. "I'm so using that line in the future."

"You're one to talk!" He snapped at her. "You use blood magic!"

"I never thought I would see the day where you would use the word 'tit' Daisy." Varric laughed. "Let alone tit monkey!"

"Stop talking like I'm not here!" Anders protested. Shepard even started laughing.

"Xenophobia is the dislike or fear of people, or in this case, races, foreign to you." Miranda translated.

"Tit Monkey?" Liara repeated slowly. "Does this have to do with Pyjaks?" Her comment earning her curious stares, causing her to flush beneath her hood. "They're...they're are breed of monkeys." came the explanation.

The marksman just shrugged. "It's just an expression really," he responded. "And a golden one at that," he added, still chuckling.

"Actually, something has been bugging me for a while." Kasumi pointed out as she pointed at both Merrill and Hawke. "What's up with the face tattoos? Do they have some sort of meaning like the Turian Markings or something?"

Merrill brought her hand up to her face, tracing over her facial markings. "When a dalish elf comes of age, we are marked with intricate tattoos representing one of our gods," she informed the thief. "We have have earned the privilege to wear _Vallaslin_, the blood writing.

The Keeper of our clan performs the ritual, and it is done in complete silence. Cries of pain are seen as signs of weakness; if a young elf cannot take the pain of the blood writing, they are deemed unready to take on the responsibilities of an adult, and the Keeper may stop the ritual. There is no shame in this, as all children are different. It once took our ancestors centuries to come of age," she explained. "It also sets us apart from the shemlen, and the elves who have thrown their lot in with them. It reminds us that we will never again surrender our traditions and beliefs."

"So why does Hawke have them?" Miranda asked. "It's like seeing a human with turian markings."

The woman let out a chuckle. "I'll admit, it is uncommon among humans, and usually reflects descent from a prominent tribe," she responded, as she brought her hand up to trace over the tattoo around her left eye.

'_Wonderful.'_ Shepard thought dryly as she fingered her own scars. "So why do _you _ have them then?" she asked..

"I...these were bestowed upon me," the rogue responded vaguely. "More than that, I will not say," before pushing on ahead, clearly ending that conversation topic.

"Hawke is very...private...when it comes to the origins, or reasons, behind her tattoos. The one on her face particularly," Varric explained. "Hell, even I don't know the story behind how she got them...and next to Sunshine, I'm the second person she's close to.

I assume it may have something to do with her heritage, but..." he trailed giving a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm not bothered by it...I haven't given Bianca's origin story either," giving a light chuckle.

"I see" Liara began, looking at Shepard who had still yet to reveal her first name. "Everyone is allowed to keep secrets, even our heroes."


	9. Chapter 9

"Doctor T'Soni? That's what I can call you, right? _Doctor_." Merrill started as she fell into pace with Liara. "What is a 'Doctor' anyway? Are you like some type of person who can solve everyone's problems? _The Doctor?_"

"Not quite so extravagant." Liara chuckled. "The title is more of a formality than anything, but I assume that is not your question."

The elf flushed. "Y-You're very good at this." Merrill commented as she nodded. "Yes, it's about Commander Shepard's name... you know her name, right?"

"I would be a very poor girlfriend if I didn't." Liara chuckled. "Yes, I do know her real name."

"Can you tell me it?" Merrill asked, Liara shook her head.

"Shepard will tell you in time, probably." came the answer.

"Holy shit." Varric said in pure awe. As he and their group of friends, plus Bartrand, stood before the thaig. A red glow throughout it.

Hawke turned to look at Bartrand. "Is this what you were expecting?" she asked, turning her eyes back to the ancient architecture.

"I thought...an abandoned taig, something old...what is this?" the elder Tethras wondered as he eyes took in the sight.

"How did you even know it was here?"

"Old scavenger tales," Bartrand answered. "After the third Blight. A three week journey below the surface, they said, but nobody believed them..."

Varric responded to his brother, "Looks like they were right," in agreement.

Bartrand nodded. "Make camp here! We need to look around," came the statement before the man walked off.

It didn't take long for them to set up camp. Once camp was done Hawke approached Bartand, who was standing near the entrance.

The bearded dwarf shook his head. "I don't get it," he stated. "Nothing in this thaig makes sense," as he glanced around.

"Why's that?" Sabrina inquired curiously.

"We're well below the Deep Roads. Whatever dwarves lived here lived long before the first Blight," he told her before looking around. "But where are the statues of Paragons? I don't recognize the markings on the walls or anything in the rubble."

The tattooed rogue gave a shrug of her arms. "Who knows how old these ruins are? Maybe your people were different back then," she offered up.

The older man seemed to take offense to that. "I know enough about our history to know we haven't changed much," he stated, pointing at her. "Dwarves have been mired in tradition for many ages," making hand gestures to go along with his statement.

"These dwarves might have been unique," raising his arms out to the side. "If so, I hope they kept their valuables at hand."

Sabrina gave a nod before venturing deeper into the cave, leaving the others of her party behind for the moment.

Shepard agreed and turned to her squad, only to find Miranda standing behind her. Kasumi was long gone, her giggle could be heard echoing in the cavern while Liara... Shepard smiled she was off in the distance, her Omni-Tool glowing as she made recordings of the ruins, probably everything she needed to put a paper together when they returned to Galactic Civilization.

"Alright then." It was just down to her and Miranda then. "We'll set up what we can, and do some field repairs."

"We also need to find a way to mine and bring back the Element Zero." Miranda nodded. "The others say that the Templars do not allow people to bring it from the Deep Roads, so we need to be discrete about it."

"Well, we can always have Garrus fly the Kodiak and Hammerhead out, might be the easiest way, really.." Shepard offered as she ran her hand through her hair, being around this Lyrium had her feeling... off... she couldn't place a finger upon it, however.

"I've never seen anything like this," Varric commented. "Red lyrium..." he breathed out as he inspected the roots growing out of the ground.

Merrill looked around too. "Such pretty colors. It really is quite soothing," she commented. "I can feel my mana increasing...growing stronger."

"That's because we're surrounded by high amounts of it," Anders informed her. "Pure lyrium...unaltered...untouched...by the Chantry or Templars."

"Come on, let's go look around some more," the marksman suggested. "You guys will be able to do your digging away from prying eyes."

Shepard nodded, and signaled for her team to follow. Hawke's team did the same. "Say, where's Hawke?" Merrill wondered as the group moved forward.

"I think she went to speak to Bodahn," Anders remarked, though he wasn't quite sure. "I'm sure she'll be back...you know she doesn't miss a chance to go exploring about. She's as curious as a cat. An adorable little tabby cat," he added with a smile.

"Indeed I don't!" came the proclamation, successfully startling the party with her sudden appearance; she grinned from that. "I saw an opening in the wall where Bodahn was set up," she told them, pointing in it's direction.

It didn't take them long to reach it. "Hmm. Whatever's through here, seems to be still in tact. Think we'll find anything?" he asked his business partner.

The rouge gave a shrug. "You don't seem all that excited," she noted. "Bartrand is far more enthralled with this place that you are."

"Unlike him, I wasn't born in Orzammar. I wouldn't even be down here if there wasn't profit in it," he remarked. "This entire place gives me the chills. Let's just hope it's worth it."

Sabrina gave a nod of agreement as their party moved further inward. They didn't get far before they encountered a group of demons, off in a corner.

"Shades!" Anders shouted, drawing his staff as he prepared to cast a haste over the entire party. The creatures spotting them and immediately began making their way toward the party.

"Shades? What?!" Kasumi shouted confused as she looked around. "Where? I don't see any mercs!" Shepard's team unhostered their guns and lifted them but had no idea what exactly what they were were looking for until Hawke's team started fighting.

"Sicons?" Shepard asked as she lowered her gun slowly, they almost looked like those blasted Collector things that always threw her out of cover with their biotic blasts. "It can't be..." she looked at Miranda. "Can it?"

"Doubtful." she fired aimlessly with her pistol a couple times, everyone still trying to get a read. "The Collectors would never attack this place, so they won't be in the Deep Roads."

"Thank the Goddess for small mercies then," Liara said, as her body glowed blue, not that she understood what she was attacking. That was, until a dark cloud appeared before her, and a massive monster stood towering over her.

Without hesitation, it used it's long arms to swing at her, catching her with a powerful hit. Or at least, the creature would have had she not erected a barrier at the last minute.

"I'll take these guys over Shrieks any day," Sabrina commented, as she backflipped out of the fray, before catching one of the demons in the back, dropping it finally.

Merrill fired off a Stone Fist at a group of the creatures, knocking them all back, while dropping two in the process.

Then, suddenly, the ground shook. Causing Hawke and her companions to freeze for a moment. "You have got to be kidding me," Hawke groaned, as she cast a glance over her shoulder.

"What's that?" Kasumi asked loudly as she reloaded her Locust. Shepard had jumped onto the back of the, thing, that was trying to pound Liara into the dirt and had smashed her Omni-Blade into it's back, combined with her weight and the following overload detonation, the Shade fell.

"Now I think I've seen it all." Liara said when she turned to see what was charging them. A massive creature made entirely out of stone, that had glowing blue markings along it's form. "Just what is that?!" she cried out before she and her bondmate dived out of the way.

Varric was busy loading it with arrows, but still found time to answer her question. "It's a golem Blueberry," he said between shots. "Dwarves of old used them as guards and defence against intruders.

It sees us as intruders...or has just becoming corrupted," he added. "Either way."

"Anders! Merrill!" Sabrina shouted as she charged the magically empowered creature. "Let's get a firestorm going!" she remarked, before launching herself atop the golem's head. Hacking away at it's solid form like a mad woman. "Varric, let's hail some arrows down on this thing!"

The storyteller smirked as he readied Bianca. "You've got it Hawke," he agreed before firing a barrage of arrows in the air...that soon hailed down around and upon the golem.

"Suck on a fireball!" Anders cried, as he eyes and hands glowed before he made a gesture toward the sky and massive balls of fire reigned down over the field; Merrill doing the exact same gesture and getting the exact same results.

"Not the fire again!" Kasumi called out as she dodged a fireball.

Sabrina grunted as she held on tightly to their stone enemy. "It won't harm you!" she told the hooded woman before she was flung off by the creature.

"Detonate the fire!" Shepard shouted. "Once it takes hold, use Overload!" she primed her Omni-Tool while rolling out of the way of a fire, not caring if it was safe or not. She just didn't trust it. "On my-"

"Goldie Locks! Watch out!" Varric called out to the woman, seeing the golem grab a chunk of the earth before throwing it at the Commander.

"Fuck!" Shepard shouted before diving out of the way, crashing on the ground as the stone soared overhead, the opening was lost as the spell wore off. She got back up onto her feet as her biotics flared. "What's the best way to take this down?" she asked before throwing a powerful Warp.

"We just assault it until it collapses to the ground," Sabrina responded, as she got on her guard now that the creature was focused on her. "With luck, we'll have it down before we all fall over with exhaustion.

* * *

The golem released one final cry before it's stone form stopped glowing and it fell to the ground. Creating a crater in the earth, as well as shaking it; it then crumpled into pieces, the magic binding it together having left it.

Hawke was the first to fall onto her ass. She was panting like a horse and her armour was damaged fifteen ways from Sunday. "Okay, I'll admit...it got me with that last punch," she breathed out, as she brought a hand up to cradle her bruised torso

"Get some Medi-Gel on that." Shepard ordered as Liara ran up to Hawke, kneeling down before the rogue before stopping.

"Commander, I can't do that, her... injury is much more than what simple Medi-Gel can go." she said, the Commander groaned.

"Anders! Do something about that!" Shepard snapped at the healer.

The Warden grumbled something about the Commander not having the right to order him around; but, he made his way over to Hawke to inspect her torso. "You've got a shard of stone lodged in you," he said, noticing the injury. "It needs to be removed. I can heal you once it's out of the way.

Is it in deep?" the former circle mage inquired of her, allowing his fingers the opportunity to savour the feel of her skin, as he brushed them around the wound.

The party leader shook her head. "Which is good news. Means it won't have to be shoved through to the other side," she grunted out as she adjusted herself, bringing up her free hand to grab at the piece of stone embedded within her.

Bracing herself, she then ripped the stone out. Hissing in pain as she did so, as a chunk of her flesh was pulled off with it; leaving a fairly deep wound in her torso, blood pouring out of it.

"Here, save your magics." Liara told Anders as she raised her Omni-Tool and administered Medi-Gel on the open wound. While not as quick as magics, the gel quickly stopped the bleeding as it glossed over. Reaching into the bag she had with her she pulled out some gauze and bandages. "It's not instantaneous, but it will heal." she told the rogue as she covered the wound.

Sabrina gave a nod to show that she understood, as she pushed herself up and onto her feet. Her hand still remaining on her now covered injury. "Does this salve of yours usually burn?" she asked of Liara, as she rubbed as her hidden injury. "It's hot against my skin," she explained.

"Great, she has no idea what she's doing," Anders huffed, tossing his arms up. "Never let an amateur do a healers job."

"It's not that Anders," Sabrina chided. "The pain is fading, I am simply curious as to whether it's supposed to heat my skin or not," she explained.

"That's normal." Liara said. "It's just the clotting agent, you're not used to it so it only makes sense."

"I feel all tingly over there," the rogue said, earning a chuckle from Shepard's companions as well as Varric.

"Now that the demons are out of the way, I believe we can press on," the marksman commented, before shifting his attention towards the back of the cave, spotting a door. "Deeper and Deeper we go."

"Just like men into Isabela," Anders quipped as the party headed towards the heavy door. "If you need assistance Hawke..." he began, noticing she wasn't at the front of the group as she usually was.

She waved him off. "No, no...I'm fine," she insisted. "Just getting use to this salve is all," she told him.

"Actually, when I think of how deep this goes," Varric spoke up as he pulled open the heavy door. "I think of you and all your whining and complaining," he told the blonde mage, chuckling at Anders offence.

"By the Creators," Merrill breathed as they walked down an intact hallway, toward another door. "It reminds me of the ruins near our camp back in Ferelden. I wonder what kind of people these dwarves were."

"This is why I had dedicated my life when I was younger to study the Protheans. Just the constant wonder of seeing places long forgotten like this." Liara marvelled herself. "Had I been born another race, at another time, I cannot see myself choosing a different profession."

Her words earning her a playful shoulder shove from the Commander, earning a laugh from her.

"You'd fit in here nicely Blueberry," Varric remarked as he watched the couple. "There are many lost ruins and such waiting to be rediscovered and have their stories told.

And, we are in no short supply of ruins, so I'm sure we'd be able to keep you busy all of your long life," he added with a smile, as they made it to the second door; the dwarf pulling it open again.

The large rag-tag group made their way into the decent sized room Hawke had found, or Bartrand or whoever, Shepard didn't care. It was smaller than the other rooms they had found and all but barren, even Kasumi couldn't find anything noteworthy right from the start.

"Commander." Miranda spoke up as she started up the stairs. "There is a large reading of Element Zero ahead." She pointed up at the altar of some sort, drawing forth her Omni-Tool. "This is odd, it is not like the other readings we've encountered."

Shepard was hesitant at best to keep going, being exposed to Raw Element Zero was one thing, but all this Red Lyrium, it was drawing out the same effects Red Sand did and it was making her weary to go in any deeper. Only Liara was immune to the effects, and if Miranda was as well, she never mentioned it.

"I'm going to stay back here." Shepard muttered holding her forehead. "Liara, go with them."

Liara placed a comforting hand on her bondmate's arm before walking further into the room. The group ascended the stairs where they came across an altar; a glowing red beam coming from whatever was placed upon it, they closer they got to it.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Varric questioned, as he stared down at the idol in amazement.

Sabrina looked just as surprised. "Is that...lyrium?" came her inquiry. She'd never seen red lyrium before...it was almost always blue, or blue-green, or even purple or silver for raw lyrium.

"It's definitely magic, if that helps," Anders responded, while looking at the both of them. "And not the good kind."

"Doesn't look like any kind of lyrium I've ever seen," came the dwarf's confession as he looked up at Hawke. She gave a nod of agreement showing that her thought process was on the same wavelength.

He turned when he heard footsteps, to see his brother. "Look at this Bartrand. An idol made out of pure lyrium, I think. Could be worth a fortune."

The bearded brother whistled. "You could be right. Excellent find," he commended, Shepard frowned slightly, she was no paragon, but she still knew how to read people without forcing a gun into their face. Up at the top Liara reached out for the idol, her immunity to Element Zero/Lyrium kept her free from any ill-will, if there was any at the start, from the idol as she picked it up, it was heavier that she thought it was.

"Not bad Blueberry." Varric said when the Asari turned to him with the idol in hand. "We'll take a look around, see if there is anything else further in." he took it from her and tossed it to Bartrand. The idol glowed red and Shepard suddenly found her synthetic implants spike painfully as the dwarf turned away.

"You do that." Bartrand muttered darkly as he left, grinning to himself as he heard the Commander collapse as the door started to close behind him.

Shepard!" Kasumi shouted, being the first to notice, the other looked behind them. "The door!"

Her cry causing the others to sprint towards it, but, they were too late; and, Shepard, who was closer than all of them, was too dizzy to do even stand on her own free will.

"Bartrand! It's shut behind you!" Varric called out to his brother, while Hawke tried to pry it open to no avail.

On the other side, Bartrand chuckled darkly. "You always did notice everything, Varric," he stated in dark amusement.

Both Hawke and Varric sharing a glance. "Are you joking?! You're going to screw over your own brother for a lousy idol?!" the marksman demanded to know heatedly.

"It's not just the idol," the older sibling corrected. "The location of this thaig alone is worth a fortune, and I'm not splitting it three ways.

Sorry, Brother," he said without any remorse, as the idol spiked in power again, hitting the Commander with another wave that floored her, despite her being on the opposite side of the door.

"Bartrand! Bartrand!" the beardless dwarf shouted as he pounded on the door. He received no answer. He hit the door once more in anger. "I swear, I will find that son of a bitch-sorry, Mother-and kill him!" he snarled in a way that was far from his usual laid back and playful demeanour.

He then sighed. "Let's hope there's a way out of here," he said, turning to the others as he spoke.

"Forget that!" Miranda snapped at Varric. "We need to stabilize the Commander first!" she was right, that second wave seemed to have done Shepard in, her implants were flaring up and she was having problems. "This is something I just don't understand." the 'Perfect Woman' muttered. "She's fine around refined Element Zero, and I am aware of her history with Red Sand." she brought up her Omni-Tool. "It seems that it's affecting her Bio-Synthetics directly, it's causing them to fail. There isn't anything I can do from here."

"Anders." Liara looked up at the healer. "Can you help her?"

He nodded. "Yes, but it would be pointless," he informed them. He held up his hands before Liara could respond. "Can you not sense it? This place is filled with red lyrium. I can drain her mana back down to normal levels, but it will only increase again from being surrounded by so much concentrated lyrium. Thus causing these bio-whatsits she's got to fail again."

Miranda frowned. "So you're suggesting we just leave her to die? She's too important for that!" the XO demanded to know, glaring at the mage.

He shook his head. "I'm proposing we find a way to cap her mana," he stated. "Just something that will put it below her normal levels that way being exposed to the lyrium here will not harm her."

Hawke allowed that information to roll around in her head. "I think...I might have something that could help," she said, as she reached into her bag and pulled out a ring. "This should do what Anders wants it to do," Moving over to the redhead, and grabbing her hand and pulling off her glove before slipping the ring on her finger.

There was a shout... maybe a scream? From Shepard before she fell still. She collapsed back on the ground, flat on her stomach before she groaned. She reached to the back of her neck, pushing her hair aside, revealing her biotic amp before she pulled it out. Gasping suddenly she placed the amp into her belt before pushing herself back and sitting on her ass just in time for Liara to jump her in a hard embrace.

"What the hell just happened?" Shepard asked loudly, making sure to catch the asari and return the embrace.

Anders looked at Hawke, who offered up a grin. "Ring of Inversion," she told him before he even asked. "I got Sandal to reverse the effects, taking mana,or stamina for those without it, and converting it into strength.

Didn't think I'd be using it so quickly though," she added, looking sheepish.

Liara looked at her. "I don't understand," she stated and her eyebrows came together in confusion.

"Jewellery serves as a buffer basically," Varric explained. "Every item has different effects...some increase strength, others mana or stamina, or protect you against elemental or spiritual attacks.

The list is quite extensive," he said, showing off his own medallion. "Basically, these things aren't just for show, and their effects coupled with armour and weapons makes for a deadly combination."

"The magic you're sensing might be a little unnerving right now, but it isn't harmful," Sabrina said, speaking to Shepard. "Think of it embracing you and offering you protection," hoping that would help the older woman understand.

"Will she even be able to use her magic?" Merrill inquired, earning a shrug from their party leader.

"That's her own decision," came the response. "If not, I'm not too worried about it. We've got more than our fair share of distance fighters," gesturing towards the elf and Anders, along with Miranda, Varric, and Liara.

"I can still fight." Shepard stood back up. "I've removed my biotic-amp though, so I won't be using them." she brought up her Omni-Tools and tested them as they changed into her favoured blades and back again. "But I still have my tech and weapons, I was an Infiltrator long before I was a Sentinel."

"Basically." Miranda went on to explain in layman's terms. "She can't use her 'glowing blue magic' but she can still use her ice and lightning."

"Very well. Let's get moving." Hawke said as they headed towards the back of the room hoping to find another way out.

* * *

"I'm surprised we're all still able to function down here." Miranda muttered casually while everyone worked to set up camp just so they could regain their bearings. "Biotics are drawn to Eezo, but long term exposure can cause difficulties."

"Strange," Sabrina commented, seemingly to appear next to the Australian. Sea green eyes focused the group going about their task. "It shouldn't have any effect on mages.

Their bodies are designed to handle it," she pointed out.

"The asari can handle it naturally, humans however, have developed it through experimentation," Miranda said. "It's Shepard I worry about, she's... what you would call an artificial biotic. She wasn't born with the ability like other Human Biotics."

"So I don't know what the effect of long term exposure to Element Zero would do to her."

Sabrina gave a confused look at that. "Strange...I didn't know people could voluntarily become mages," she responded. "You're either born one or you aren't. I'm sure if many had the choice, they would chose to rid themselves of their...gift? curse?...in order to live a normal life.

I know it's something Bethany wishes she had," she added, looking thoughtful as the thought of her sister entered her mind.

"Biotics... or mages... I should say, are treated differently back home than they are here." Miranda explained. "All asari are naturally biotic, whether they wish to train them is entirely up to them." she paused. "As for Shepard... she really had no say, she was unconscious when I made the changes, but she hasn't complained, I think she enjoys the explosions."

"She does tend to make a lot of them," the younger woman responded with a light chuckle. "Too bad it doesn't work out the same way here. Most families find out their child is a mage, they contact the Circle, and pretty much deny the child's existence.

Some actually kill the child when they learn that their offspring has magical talent...though I'm not really sure which end gets the better deal," she stated, looking at the older woman.

"But that is what I am unclear on." Miranda looked at Hawke. "Why the distrust for these abilities?" she asked. "The ability to control Mass Effect fields, or to manipulate the elements without the need for tech, why lock it away? Most biotics enlist so they can make a paycheck for their abilities."

"Allow a mage into the military?" Sabrina questioned before letting out a biting laugh. "They aren't even allowed be among normal people, and you'd have them placed among soldiers?

No. The Chantry would never allow it. Hell, citizens wouldn't even allow it...even if having mages would alter the tides of battle on the field. To be a wielder of magic comes with a burden, and a potential price," she informed the Australian. "Do you have any idea as to what a mage can do? The limits they can exceed?"

"No" Miranda said. "There isn't a single trained biotic who isn't military or mercenary." she told Hawke. "Commander Shepard is a SpecTRe, one of the Council's top agents. I'm the right hand woman to my boss. Jacob Taylor is excellent at what he does. Jack... hell.. Jack's an escaped convict." she chuckled. "Doctor T'Soni... well that's self explanatory right there. Thane is an assassin while Justicar Samara, she's pretty complicated herself, I would dare say she is almost like a Templar, adheres to a Code.

Biotics are just a natural part of society, no one frowns upon it. Then anyone with decent tech training, which is almost everyone, can use 'elemental' abilities freely. Like Doctor T'Soni, she's a pure biotic, as stated, but she can still Overload a terminal or Neural Shock an organic."

Sabrina brought her thumb up to her lip, teasing the nail with her teeth. "You all certainly have a different brand of magic, I can say that," she responded, before shifting her weight and rocking on her feet. "The Chantry preaches that magic is a curse, and teaches us to fear it and those who practice it.

I can't say I blame them in that area. I mean, imagine...someone who has the power to raise the dead...to take control of another person using their blood...powerful enough to change their physical form into whatever they desire..."

"Wait. Stop." Miranda cut Hawke off. "Everything you're telling me right now. Cannot be right." she crossed her arms. "To raise the dead... well I've done that myself." she glanced at Shepard. "But that was two years of work, a lot of money, and a lot of technology you do not have." she paused for a moment. "The other two things you mentioned, that is impossible. You only hear about that in fantasy stories."

Sabrina levelled her with a look before stepping closer to her. "Why do you think Anders and Merrill are always at odds?" she asked the woman in a whisper, signalling for Miranda to look over at the two mages in question. "They are both mages, they should be getting along considering the entire world is against their kind. At best a mage is to be pitied, at worst, hated," she remarked, still only speaking loud enough for Miranda to hear.

"They argue because Merrill practices blood magic," she told the woman. "By sacrificing her own blood she could easily take control of all of us if she wanted to. From there, we'd be nothing more than her puppets. Or, if she chose to kill us using our own blood there would be nothing we could do to stop her.

To be a mage is one thing, but a blood mage is even more despised," the shorter woman explained. "Sacrificing one's own health, or that of a companions, to fuel the ability to control another mind, their very body...it's said this was a magic learned from demons, others say the Old Gods...others still say the elves of old."

"But that's just not scientifically possible." Miranda crossed her arms. "Not to mention demons don't exist." she bit her lower lip. "I guess, it just goes to show just how primitive society was before science rose to power."

The younger woman's face scrunched up. "Primitive?" she echoed the word. "Everyone knows that spirits and demons exist Serah. And everyone knows what happens when they take possession of a mage...

People justify the treatment of mages based upon that," she informed the taller female.

"But that's where you lose me." Miranda looked at Hawke. "Demon's and spirits _don't exist_. They are just tales you find in old scriptures or stories. Everything is a science, that is why Liara is fascinated by your mages, she wants to know how their magic can be scientifically explained." she flared her biotics in her hand, making a small glowing fire. "Biotics are created by the Eezo nodes in our body reacting to the electrical current our nervous system creates. That is fact, no what ifs and demons this.

It is just science, therefore the mages cannot be blamed for something that is found naturally within the body."

Sea green eyes focused on the blue fire in the Australian's hand. Bringing her own hand up to hover around the flame. "Oh, but they are," she responded, her voice clearly mesmerized by Miranda's ability to create a blue flame. "They possess a raw power that attracts demons to them, even though they did not chose to be what they are.

"But that's what I've been trying to say, what we've all been trying to say." Miranda looked at Hawke. "Demons are just figments of your imagination. They are not real."

Sabrina shook her head in disagreement. "Demons are very real...and I've seen enough abominations to prove that fact."

"No." Miranda shook her head. "If anything, it's probably a form of Reaper Indoctrination you're dabbling into. For all we know they might influence this planet just as much as they influenced our galaxy. The Reapers..." she paused, almost just for effect. "They get into your mind, change you. Just ask Shepard. She's the one who fought Saren, watched him change into a Reaper Subject."

"I do not understand your term," the younger woman confessed. "But, should the mage be blamed for being what they are? Should they be blamed for the power they possess attracting demons?

It would be like blaming you for being attractive," she pointed out, earning a curious from Miranda but she then took it in stride.

"No, you do not blame them." she answers. "You cannot blame me, you cannot blame the mage. You can only blame the Reapers or... demons... in your case." she answered. "You people blame everything on demons or your god. But think about it. If the people blamed their king, and the king blamed their god... what is a god to the non-believer? People who use science as their religion? To people like Shepard?"

Sabrina let loose a chuckle. "It means nothing to you," she responded, as she continued to play with the flame. "You would care about our beliefs the same way the Qunari do...uncaringly.

The Qunari see us as unenlightened because we, humans in general, believe in the Maker...a deity that cannot be seen. The same can be said of the Dwarves, who believe in The Stone, and their Ancestors-Paragons."

"No, that is fair, with the Dwarves." Miranda said. "Quarians believe in their Ancestors, Turians are open to believe in whatever faith they choose. The Hanar believe in the Enkindlers, the Protheans." she looked at Hawke. "What about you? What religion, or lack of religion, do you follow?"

"I do not have a base religion," the rogue answered, moving closer to the XO. "The Chantry preaches to fear mages, the Qun view mages as contagious and vile beings...I would not very well support a religion that tells me I should hate and fear my own sister," came the firm statement, face scrunching up. "There are elements, however, about all the religions that intrigue me and that I can say I understand the words.

Although, some would probably say that how I interpret it, is wrong," giving a sheepish laugh. "The point is, I don't support any religion that tells me I should hate someone for being who they are.

They had no say in their birth, just like I didn't. We did not chose our lives, but we can chose how to live them."

"We had a similar problem, well the humans did, almost two hundred years ago." Miranda smiled softly. "But it wasn't with mages, but it was a debate, a large long political debate... painful, some people are just so set in their ways, and that's what's holding everyone back."

The rogue nodded in agreement. "Sounds like my Uncle Gamlen," she responded with amusement. "Not surprising...from lack of knowledge comes fear...and from fear comes hatred...I think we limit ourselves in that way.

All my sister wants is to be able to walk down the street without fear of being captured by Templars. To be seen as a person and not 'a mage'...she isn't the only mage who wants such things."

"Society will change." Miranda said. "Probably not in your lifetime. Maybe not even in mine. As long as people continue to fear what does not exist no change can be made."

Sabrina simply smirks in amusement at that. She refrains from saying anymore about demons; least they'd dance around this issue all day.

"So, since lifetimes have been brought up...I think it's time for a change in subject," Sabrina pointed out. "And, since I'm such a good host I'll let you chose the subject matter," chuckling at the end.

"In all honesty." Miranda said. "I have spent enough time with idle chatter." she moved to stand. "I need to take readings on that Red Lyrium before we are too far away. I need to see if it's possible to create a countermeasure for Shepard."

"She's got the Ring of Inversion," the younger woman pointed out. "Hasn't been bothering her since I put it on.

Heh, didn't think I'd be putting a ring on someone hand so soon," she quipped in amusement.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "While I am confused to how some 'enchanted' ring solved Shepard's problem. It doesn't mean the problem is gone. It's still there. If it was simply just her biotics malfunctioning I would just write it off as being an artificial biotic. But her synthetics were failing.

Almost like that red energy only targets synthetics..." she mused.

Hawke shrugged in response. "I wouldn't know...I've never seen red lyrium before," was her counter. "But can't it wait a few more minutes?

We were having a good conversation," she pointed out with a grin.

"It can wait. As long as we're down here. We have time."

"The same could be said of you doing...scholar stuff," she pointed out with a laugh. "But I'll let it go...if I get to get as close to you as I just was," she inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Is that what all of this was about?!" Miranda's voice raised slightly from it's usual tone, forcing even Kasumi to look up from what she was doing.

"What? No! No!" Sabrina said quickly, rapidly waving her hands. "You misunderstand," she attempted to assure the woman.

"No. I am pretty sure I do." Miranda's voice was firm. "This conversation is over." she left.

Sabrina just stood there dumbfounded. She honestly did not understand why what she said had upset Miranda so badly; they had been getting along fine up until then.

"That bad huh?" Kasumi asked as she flickered into existence beside her.

Sabrina sighed, shoulders slumping. "I did not mean to offend her," she told the thief, looking in the direction Miranda had stormed off.

"Aye, but you did." Kasumi said. "Of course I don't know what her problem is. Very few do. But you're also in luck, there are at least two people on the Normandy who do."

"I...I think I just fucked up royally and I don't know how to fix it."

"Neither do I. Miranda is a touchy one. You might have moved too quickly, she might just be straight." Kasumi shrugged her shoulders. "You've only known her for a few weeks, hardly enough time to break that cold exterior."

"I've known about her longer than you'd believe," Sabrina muttered under her breath. "I'm...I'm going to go take a wall around for a bit. Clear my head."

"Sure you do that." Kasumi said as she watched Hawke walk away. "Wait...what?" she asked when she finally understood what was said, but Hawke was gone.

"Just what secrets are you hiding Hawke?" Kasumi asked herself.


	10. Chapter 10

**OffMyLeash A/N: **_**To address what a reviewer pointed out concerning 'magics' and 'biotics'. **__**No**_ _**we are not attempting to make them exactly the same in terms of how they function. Shepard and co were merely pointing out that the 'magic' the mages of Hawke's homeworld possess can be explained with science. Keep in mind that these are people from two different universes with two different ways of thinking, and those thought processes will be challenged and such. However, I'd also like to say that there ARE similarities between 'magics' and 'biotics' which will be addressed/explained as this story progresses. I won't give away much but I will state that Shepard and co are off in assuming that it is the Reapers...it isn't the Reapers. So please continue to be patient as the story builds...we promise not to be like Bioware and EA and give you something that completely makes no sense, lol. (Though I'm not opposed to having cupcakes sent my way... :3 )**_

_**Stardust A/N: If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to message me, I do respond to most, explain, sometimes spoil.**_

* * *

The older woman looked over at her younger partner; she offered the Commander a tender smile. "I'm fine Shepard," she assured the redhead. "This is all so amazing," she added as she brought up her Omni-Tool.

The scientific portion of her brain kicking in. "Can you imagine all the questions this brings up? An entire planet living around and immune to the effects of Eezo to the point they actually consume it raw?" Excitement filling the ssari's voice.

Shepard exhaled slowly, sounding more pained than annoyed. "It is, you can write a paper about it later." she walked up to Liara. "After all, magics instead of biotics." she paused. "I thought Thessia was heavily saturated with Eezo as well."

"It is." Liara said. "And we have adapted, that's why we're immune to Red Sand, Eezo exposure and why all asari are natural biotics. And here is proof that humankind is evolving the same way, a different way. It will be generations, maybe even another fifty thousand years, before all humans on this planet are biotics, or mages."

"Not true Blueberry," Varric spoke up. "We dwarves are immune to lyrium," he informed her.

"We live so close to it, that over time we've lost the ability to channel it. Therefore, unlike other inhabitants of the land we do not enter the Fade when we dream. We have a...dreamless sleep if you will."

"Fascinating." Liara said.

"The bloodlines determine if a child will be born with magical abilities or not," Merrill added in.

Anders nodded. "Many attempt to, breed it out," he told the Asari. "Marrying people who are known not to have magic within their bloodlines.

Of course that doesn't guarantee their child won't be a mage, but it does lower the chances significantly."

"Wait, we're letting dreams into the equation now?" Shepard asked, soundly oddly like Saren back before she was a SpecTRe. "There is no viable proof with that, the REM Cycle of sleep has nothing to do with one's ability on the battlefield."

Anders shook his head. "It has everything to do with a mages abilities," he stated. "Hell, it's what creates mages in the first place.

Our connection to the Fade outside of sleep," he added, as he rolled his shoulders. "But, I don't expect closed minded people to understand. Even the people of this land don't understand my kind...why should you be the exception?"

"Because everything is a science." Shepard said, the same argument Miranda had earlier, watching as Liara raised her hand and created a biotic flame. "That is the the eezo nodules in the body reacting to the electrical impulses of my nervous system. No fade, no dreams, no fucking demons, science."

Anders snorted. "Perhaps where you come from," he remarked. "But do not think to tell me how my body works when I have been inside the Fade, and encountered demons, and allowed the spirit of Justice inside of my body.

Do not think to tell me 'science' when I had to slay my friend out of mercy because his connection to the Fade had been severed and he had been made Tranquil," spitting the words in anger as he spoke.

"Shepard is right though." Liara spoke up. "Everything can be explained, just not right away. According to my research, the first humans believed fire to be some form of magic. Our society is much more advanced than yours, we have simply discovered explanations for things you have not.

We have figured out how to artificially manipulate the elements, terraform planets, global cooling-"

"Liara." Shepard raised her hand. "You're confusing them with tech."

"No." the scientist shook her head. "Operative Lawson should agree with me on this one. Just as we biotics can create Mass Effect fields and technicians such as yourself can manipulate plasma and electricity from your Omni-Tools. Magic can easily be explained, once given the proper research it deserves.

In the end, that's what it is is." Liara continued. "The first asari thought biotics was nothing more than magic, everything can be proven-

"Everything cannot be proven with your science!" Anders shouted, cutting the asari off, eyes glowing as his powers charged. "I'll admit, you may know about star metal ships, and smaller weapons, but do not think to presume you know about how my magic functions!"

"I'm inclined to agree with Blondie...minus the shouting part of course," Varric spoke up, as he watched the male mage. "What you're saying contradicts ages worth of facts and research," he pointed out.

Magic had existed as long as all the races of Thedas. Probably longer. Some people were born mages, and others were not. It wasn't something that could be explained...it was just something that happened.

And, no matter what the world tried to do to rid itself of it, magic was not going anywhere.

"Then your talk of fake mages," he added. "Tell that to any mage here and they'd look at you like a three legged nug humping a barrell.

After all, most mages would rather not be what they are, and yet you turn people into them...it's baffling really," he admitted honestly.

"Fake mage? Is that what you're calling me?" Shepard sounded almost offended. "That's hurts, even more so when Garrus called me a bad Infiltrator."

"That's because you don't know the first thing about sneaking around." Liara snapped at Shepard. "But that is not the point." she looked back at Anders. "You believe what you believe because that is what you are taught, we are coming in from a different angle, a different background. We can see things you cannot."

Anders looked absolutely offended by her words. "What we are taught?! It's a fact! I thought a researcher would love those!" he shouted, as he stalked toward the blue skinned woman. "But, then again, you are an _Abomination_..."

"I am _NOT!" _Liara stood up to face him. "An abomination!" her biotics flared slightly.

Varric glanced at Kasumi. "Is it just me...or are things starting to heat up in here?" he asked the their as he referred to the tension between Liara and Anders.

The thief giggled. "Indeed they are...though perhaps not in the way some of us wished," glancing at Miranda who arched an eyebrow at her.

"Liara..." Shepard spoke softly, but the Information Broker just raised a hand to stop the Commander, the human ignored her. "It's because they are taught to fear the unknown. What if a Turian Ship landed here instead of my own? Or an Asari Ship? It would be the First Contact War all over again, and it won't be something that would end in a month."

"It's because of people like him that his kind are feared." Liara sneered, the Information Broker side of her coming into the light. "That is why they won't give the mages the proper research they need."

"WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!" the healer roared at her, his eyes burning an intense white as Vengeance clawed his way to the surface, causing Anders's voice to change. "Continue with your words and I will show you why mages are feared!" he snapped at her, the magic radiating off his enough to make the air around them thick and heavy.

"I never said such a thing!" Liara shouted back as she stepped back, hand going for her Locust.

Vengeance snorted, upon seeking her retreat. "You are no different from the rest," he stated. "They push and push us with their words but when we finally react they are quick to retreat in fear...and yet they are the ones who say we are dangerous and unpredictable," Taking a step towards her.

Instead of taking another step back like most would, Liara raised her weapon in response. "I might have retreated in my younger days, but I have learnt that sometimes you just need to fight back to be heard." she said.

"Liara, think about this." Shepard almost pleaded as she started searching her belt for her biotic amp, unable to remember what pouch she had put it in.

"Who is controlling you?" Liara asked slowly as the mage and biotic started to circle each other around the camp. "A Reaper? A demon?"

The mage frowned at that, taking a step forward. "I AM NO DEMON!" came the shout. "ARE YOU ONE, THAT YOU WOULD CALL ME SUCH?!" came the demand.

"Oh, my," Merrill said as she put a hand to her head. "I can feel his power shifting the Veil around us," came the comment.

"Blueberry...meet Justice, or is it Vengeance...I can never keep up," the dwarf said with a shake of his head. "A Fade spirit Blondie allowed inside his body...but,Blondie had, has, too much rage inside of him from the Chantry's mistreatment of mages...and from Justice, emerged Vengeance."

The storyteller then let out a sigh. "Where's Hawke when you truly need her?" he wondered aloud with a shake of his head.

"Wait." Miranda spoke up. "So all this talk about demons, they are actually real?" she asked loudly as Shepard stood up.

"That's bullshit, it has to be some form of indoctrination." the Commander said.

By the time, both Varric and Merrill had risen from their seats. Shepard and her companions were unfamiliar with this side of Anders, but they weren't; if a fight was going to occur it would take all of them to knock some sense back into the mage.

He was quite powerful when he got like this.

"Shadow," the marksman said, gaining Kasumi's attention. "Think you could run off and find Hawke for us fast?" he requested. "We're going to need her."

Anders, or rather Vengeance, turned his attention to the redhead. "Do you too seek to suppress the mages? Do you wish to see us face injustices for things we have not done? Are you content to simply stand idly by when people suffer at the hands of others?!" he demanded to know. Unfortunately, Shepard took too long to answer. "So you are against us then. Very well," he said as he drew his weapon from his back.

"The mages will see freedom!"

"Wait! Wait!" Shepard shouted but it was too late, Ander's first attack knocked her off her feet and her kinetic shields failed the moment she hit the ground. Liara eventually turned around and fired off a biotic warp at the mage.

He slammed his staff into the ground, holding his hand out. A blue barrier forming around his body; stopping the warp in their tracks-knocking it away from him. He then picked up his staff and began twirling around in his grasp...firing off bursts of magic at the asari.

Liara raised her own hand, a barrier forming around her and blocking his attack. She never let it rebound, a simple force from her destroying his attacks and her protection before she charged forward her free hand glowing with biotic power before unleashing a shockwave that tore up the ground in it's pathway.

"Fuck fuck shit." Shepard snarled as she sat back up, shaking her head to clear it.

He quickly moved to get out of the way of the wave. He re-positioned himself on the field, getting closer to Liara before bringing his hands up to her head; a brief pause before he projected a wave of telekinetic force...sending all in the camp backwards with powerful force, causing them to hit the ground.

He also took this opportunity to build his magic and then summoned _Rock Armour_ to cover his body. "I will not allow you to add to the plight of the mages," he spoke as he sent more magic waves the asari's way.

Liara moved to raise another barrier but the Commander got in the way, taking the brunt of the attacks with her Tech Armour while both of her Omni-Tools flared to life. Stepping forward she fired off an Incinerate and an Overload in a quick one-two succession before following up with her own biotics.

"You will not harm her!" Shepard shouted back, the mage frowned.

"You are all the same!" He bellowed as he sent a shockwave of his own in the couple's way from the base of his staff. They quickly moved giving him the opening to start another spell, Shepard, wouldn't give him that opening. She charged forward detonating her shields as she got close, the shockwave forcing Vengeance to stumble. She quickly lashed out grabbing him and throwing him over her shoulder. Her free hand growing cold as she collected the particles for a Deep Cyro Blast.

"Anders!" Varric shouted, rare that he called anyone by their name. "Get a hold of yourself Blondie!" trying to coach his friend back out over the angered spirit.

But, he was not Hawke, the spirit would not listen to him.

"You seek to use the elements against me?!" Vengeance demanded to know. "As if they could stop me!" he added as his own hand glowed dark.

"Stop!" Liara shouted before either Vengeance or Shepard could strike each out.

Holding her hands up she captured the two of them in stasis fields and pulled them apart. Releasing the Commander almost right afterwards. "We are not your enemy!" she shouted at Anders. "We are just trying to understand our differences!"

Varric nodded in agreement. "We're all on the same side Blondie," he attempted to assure the Mage.

"What's going on?!" Hawke demanded to know, as she returned to the campsite; Kasumi standing next to her.

"Liara might have overstepped her bounds with her beliefs." Miranda explained. "Anders attacked."

A sigh came from the rogue as she rubbed at her head. "Don't suppose it had to do with talks of your science?" She asked, even though she could guess.

Miranda nodded. Sea green eyes shifted from the Australian, to the man from the Anderfells; eyes glowing harshly as he struggled against the hold Liara had him in.

"Only biotic power can negate that." Shepard said as she looked at Hawke. "I guess it's safe to say that our abilities and yours are completely different."

The younger woman just gave a nod. "Merrill," she called, gaining the elf's attention. "Do you think you can take control of him?

Just to cease his struggling?" She asked.

The Dalish elf nodded. "Yes, it won't be a problem," she complied, as she drew a knife before slicing into her palm.

"Blood?" Liara asked. Was this their blood magic?

"It's alright. I know what I'm doing," Merrill assured the asari, noticing how she was being looked at.

She could feel the magic around her; a red glow encompassing her from head to toe as the power filled her. Her eyes were focused on Anders before she outstretched her arm toward him-seeking to take control of him.

Whether it was Anders power or the Mass Effect field in the way. The spell never reached it's intended target.

"Creators!" Merrill shouted as she grasped her head, sinking to her knees.

Liara had a similar reaction. Shouting something in a different tongue as her eyes went black. Shepard catching her before she fell.

Hawke would have been concerned, but she didn't have time for that. The magic that Liara had used to contain Anders had dispersed; and, still possessed by Vengeance his was still a threat.

She rushed over to him with a speed that would make any rogue proud. His feet had barely touched the ground before she punched him across the face, dropping him to his knees; she grabbed his head and brought it to meet her knee.

It was enough, the glow of his eyes fading, revealing his natural hazel eyes, before they rolled up into his head and he fell onto his back, unconscious.

"That wasn't supposed to happen. Was it?" Kasumi asked. Whatever Merrill had used faded away and left both the mage and doctor unconscious.

"No...no it wasn't there Shadow," Varric responded as he put his weapon away.

Sabrina let out a sigh. "Kasumi. Miranda. You're with me," she stated. "We need to scout the area...make sure this," gesturing toward the three unconscious forms. "Didn't warrant any thing to come our way."

"Varric. Shepard. You two stay here while we're gone," she added, before looking at the Commander. "Try not to kill Anders while I'm gone," came the request.

Shepard just gave Hawke a rather hard look.

"No promises. I'm known to pull the trigger first." she said.

"Figured. Which is why Varric will be here," gesturing toward the dwarf. "Anders is still my companion despite this...episode.

Though I'm in no way taking responsibility for his actions, I do still have a responsibility to him too," she added, as she rubbed the back of her neck.

The marksman let out a chuckle. "That's our Hawke...rising to moments of political diplomacy when needed," he commented.

"A far better job than Shepard if you ask me." Miranda said. The Commander took the moment to look offended.

Kasumi giggled. "She's got you there Shep," the thief agreed.

Sabrina took a moment to look embarrassed from the praise. "I am no diplomat," she insisted. "Now come...we have a area to patrol," gesturing for Kasumi and Miranda to follow.

It was a moment of silence before Shepard spoke. She had pulled Liara closer to her the asari's head resting against her shoulder.

"What was supposed to have happened?" she asked. "To me, it seems it attacked Liara by mistake and with the way the Asari's mind works. Everything backfired."

"Merrill was supposed to take control of Anders," the dwarf answered. "Blood magic allows the caster to take control of another, through their blood, unless they pass a mental resistance check."

"So did Anders pass or did the Mass Effect field get in the way?" Shepard asked. "Then Merrill never did take control of Liara. So I guess something funny happened there."

"I think...her barrier got in the way," Varric answered, though it sounded more like a question that statement. "Best answers will come when they're awake," she added.

Shepard exhaled slowly, looking down on Liara. "Alright."

* * *

Merrill and Liara both groaned as they came to. The elf placing a hand to her head. "By the Creators..." She breathed out as she tried to get her mind clear. "What in the Dales happened?" She asked curiously.

"That's what we'd hoped you'd be able to tell us Daisy," Varric voice filled we ears, earning her gaze. "I've seen you use your specialization enough to know that wasn't supposed to happen," a smirk playing on his lips.

"You okay?" Shepard asked Liara gently surprised both had woke at the same time. Liara shifted against Shepard so her armour was a little more comfortable to lean against.

"I never had that happen before." she admitted. "A meld forced like so."

"Meld?" Merrill echoed curiously. She tried searching her memory for the term. "I...I do not...wait," pausing as knowledge she never had came to her.

She then flushed redder than the Commander's hair. "We...we had..." She began sputtering and fidgeting nervously. "D-does that mean...we're together now?" She asked in a whisper, getting redder by the second.

The blood Mage felt she might pass out again.

"Goddess no." Liara shook her head, relaxing slightly as Shepard's hands massaged the back of her head. "Shepard is my bondmate, there is nothing to worry about."

"So what happened? Was what supposed to have happened?" Shepard asked.

Merrill let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the Creators," she breathed before panicking again. "That was a rude thing to say!

Not that I don't think you're pretty...you have pretty skin...it's just I don't think I'm ready for...I mean I'm not trying to offended you and.." She stammered trying to explain her relief.

Liara was looking at her in amusement. Causing her to become more flustered by the second.

"I mean you...I don't...I didn't...I-I'll just stop talking now," Merrill finally said before ringing her fingers together and looking down at the dirt in embarrassment.

Several chuckles erupted from around her; causing even her ears to become inflamed.

"Take easy there Merrill," Sabrina said, coming to sit beside the elf, who was quick to move next to the human.

"Don't hurt yourself over it Merrill." Liara said.

"While it is complicated to understand at first, it's nothing to worry yourself over. My people use this...ability... not only for what you have implied but to share knowledge that cannot be explained by word of mouth."

The tattooed elf just nodded in agreement. Still too flustered to say anything more at the moment.

"So, mind letting those of us who weren't in on the mind games in?" Sabrina asked with her usual charm. "Like explaining what 'meld' is?"

"It's rather complicated to explain." Liara admitted sheepishly. "In short, we asari can atune our minds... well nervous system... to another and share thoughts, feelings, memories and knowledge."

"Is that what happened with you and Daisy?" Varric asked. "Instead of her taking control," he noticed Shepard flinching from the phrase. "You two shared memories instead?"

"Are you feeling alright Merrill?" Sabrina inquired, concern lacing her tone.

"I... I saw something." Merrill admitted. "But I do not know if it is my place to say... there... there was a lot of... different things... personal things..."

Instantly, Hawke's face was inches from her's. earning a surprised 'eep' from the Dalish; Miranda seemed to tense from that, from her position off to the side.

"Ooo...potential gossip," the rogue teased. "Do tell? Is it embarrassing...or naughty?" Her voice becoming sultry as she arched an eyebrow.

"I swear Hawke, you've been spending too much time around Isabela," the marksman quipped with a throaty chuckle.

Sabrina chuckled as well. "It's okay Merrill," she told the elf, cupping the girl's face with her hands. "It is okay _da'mi_," she told the elf before kissing her forehead.

"Doctor." Merrill looked at Liara. "What I saw... took place on a place called 'Noveria'."

"Mother..." Liara almost whimpered, her hand clutching at Shepard's armour.

"I...I cannot imagine how that must have felt," she added, casting her gaze toward the ground.

"It was painful, but for the best." Liara admitted. "I had decided to remember her as the woman she once was rather than what she has became under Saren's rule."

Merrill nodded. "He looked quite scary," she voiced. "He looked like Garrus but...you know...scarier.

It looked like he was part golem," she pointed out, recalling how half of the man's face had shininess like armour.

"Wait." Varric held up a hand. "Just what did you see. Exactly. Daisy?"

The blood Mage scratched her head. "It's...hard to explain," she admitted. "I saw...them fighting many golems...a blight...I saw a place that was made out if star metal...it had a lot of blue people like Liara there...

It's all so much really," looking sheepish as she spoke.

"The time we were chasing Saren and the Geth." Shepard said. "What you probably saw was the Citadel."

"Or any other place." Miranda cut in. "Noveria was where you thought the Commandos. Was it not?"

Shepard nodded. "So, did Liara see anything from Merrill's mind?" Kasumi inquired curiously.

"I did." Liara answered. "I want to guess that they were childhood memories. But I might be wrong." she glanced at Merrill.

"Probably. Could you be a little more detailed?"

"Forests, fellow elves..." Liara listed. "Dare I say magic and a... mirror?"

"You are speaking of my time in Ferelden then," she informed the asari, feeling almost melancholy. "Possibly my old clan before I was given to the Sabrae clan to be study under the Keeper and be her First.

As for the mirror...I lost two of my closest friends to it," she added, sadness filling her voice. It had been so long since she thought about that time in her life; running around with Hawke helped her to forget the reasons why her clan had shunned her, even if what she was doing was for their benefit.

"I see." Liara sighed. "As I am curious to learn more, I wish to know why that happened than your initial attempt to control Anders. Could have it been my biotics?"

"Either your magic, or the magic that was flowing through Anders could have caused it," the younger woman answered. "In order for blood magic to work, depending on the skill being performed, it requires me getting inside the mind of who I intend to attack.

If I can get inside, then I can control them, because their mental barriers are weak. Though, for some spells, even if they pass with having a metal resistance, damage can still be inflicted upon them as a result."

"So when you accidentally entered my mind, I must have triggered the meld as... well I wouldn't say self defence, but I guess I must have just acted on instinct when one enters my mind, creating that feedback."

Shepard nudged her playfully. "Letting other people into your mind when I'm not looking T'Soni," she teased. "We're going to have to talk about that later," no weight in her words at all.

"That's very interesting what you do," the elf stated. "It can be very useful. Can you teach me that specialization?" she asked of Liara. "I'd very much like to learn it," eagerness filling her voice at the thought.

The Commander smirked, before leaning in close to whisper in Liara's ear. "Reminds me of how you were when we first met," she remarked. "All eager... innocent... easily flustered," chuckling when the asari shooed her away.

"It is not something that can be taught to a non-asari." Liara admitted. "It's...part of our biology, something that formed as my people evolved."

The former First nodded from that. "Um...when I was...inside your mind," she began, as she recalled the new tidbits of information in her head; much of which she couldn't make heads or tails of. "I saw...many blue women but...I never saw blue men.

Why? Do you not interact with them? Do the men and women live separately?" her eyebrows coming together in curiosity, as she looked at the Broker who was beginning to flush herself.

"Come to think of it...I haven't heard you mention anything about the men where you hail from Serah," Varric pointed out. "That bad looking or something?" he teased with a smirk.

"Gu-Goddess... how do I... how do I explain this one?" Liara stammered as Kaumi and Shepard bellowed with laughter.

"Well it's a place to learn Liara." Shepard chuckled as she placed her hand on Liara's shoulder. "You know, for six hundreds years from now when you become a renowned Matriarch."

If looks could kill.


	11. Chapter 11

"Enough," A voice demanded as another rock wraith created itself. Pulling itself up from the ground. "You have proven your mettle. I would not see the creatures here harmed without need."

Sabrina scoffed. "I'd say being attacked on sight gives us plenty of need!" she countered, accessing the creature before her.

"They will not assault you further, not without my permission," came the assurance.

"What are these things?" Varric asked, directing his question toward Hawke. "They seem like rock wraiths but..." trailing off, not sure how to finish that sentence.

"They hunger," the creature before the large ground stated. "The profane have lingered in this place for ages, beyond memory, feeding on the magic stones until the need is all they know."

"They eat the lyrium? Sounds like a healthy diet," Sabrina remarked sarcastically.

The profane started at her. "I am not as they are. I am...a visitor," it informed them.

"Oh yes!" Shepard shot back suddenly "Here is the Reaper we've been looking for!" only to have her cry ignored.

Anders spoke up. "It seems mostly interested in their hunger. It's a demon, come to feed," frowning as he put that information out there.

"I would not see my feast end!" the possessed creature declared. "I sense your desire. You seek to leave this place, but you will need my help to do so."

Anders's scowl deepened if possible. "Don't do it. Demons will trip you up every time," he warned, speaking from personal experiences.

"Nonsense. Not all demons are bad," Merrill defended. "Some are actually rather nice."

Hawke turned to the others. "What are you're feelings on this?" she asked, wanting to know their opinions.

"I am not comfortable with this." Shepard stated, speaking the same thoughts her crew had. "You call this a demon, but how am I not to know that this is not one of Harbinger's lackies?"

"How are we supposed to know what your 'Harbinger' is?" Anders countered earning a heated glance from the Commander.

After what he'd done earlier, the redhead was highly suspicious of the mage; especially seeing as he had another entity inside of him, that could take control of him at any minute. Plus, he'd attacked Liara so he was damn near bordering pushing number one for her shit list-the Reapers and Collectors barely maintaining that position.

"A Reaper. He is part of the goddamn blight that plagues the galaxy." Shepard snapped at him. "Something you will see as a demon, something I want destroyed."

"Killing one wiped out most of the human fleet." Miranda said. "And there is a horde of them just waiting out in Dark Space to start their genocide against us."

"From what I have of Liara's memories...Reapers appear to be very scary," Merrill spoke up. "They seem to be like an Archdemon leading the horde," she added, as that was all she could compare it to. "Except its purple...and made of star metal...and looks something of a giant squid."

Shepard groaned as Anders just gave her a look.

"I know of no Harbinger..." the demon spoke. "Nor of these beings you call Reapers."

"That's reassuring." Miranda sighef.

The creature's attention then turned to Shepard. "I merely wish to continue my feast here in this place," came the statement. "I am harming none with my actions," he pointed out.

"Your world Hawke." Shepard shrugged her shoulders. "Your call."

Hawke folded her arms across her chest. "And, why would we need your help?" she asked, speaking to the demon, wanting to get the full picture before making any decisions.

"There is another door that leads into the path far above us. That is what you seek," he stated, sensing their desire to be free of the place. "It has been sealed however, and cannot be opened without a key.

I know where the key is. Do as I ask, and I shall tell you," he proposed.

Varric made a noise. "Hm, so what do you think Hawke?" looking at her. She returned his glance and in the look, he knew.

"I'm thinking about...a...number four?" she proposed to the dwarf, fighting to keep amusement from her voice and a smirk from her lips.

He chuckled. "Haven't done that one in a while," he remarked, before giving a nod.

Sabrina then turned her attention back to the demon. "I accept," she said, surprising the rest of her party.

"What?!" Anders demanded to know, marching forward and grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. "Are you insane?! Making deals with a demon!" he shouted at her.

Merrill agreed with Hawke. "It's not a bad deal," she insisted. "Plus, we get to move around without being attacked by more of those things."

"A wise decision," the demon remarked. "In the next room, resides a powerful wraith. Slay it for me, and the key is yours." he informed them.

Hawke nodded from thank. "That you for the information," she responded. "Varric, if you please," motioning towards partner.

His response was a swift arrow through the creatures head. Causing it's form to come crumbling to the ground. "Hawke, I swear, you are such a deviously generous soul," chuckling as he returned Bianca to her resting place.

"Was that truly wise?" Shepard growled. "I don't know much about this world, but from the jist of it, making an agreement with a demon is like saying I'll work for the Reapers, it doesn't work that way."

"But demons here aren't a genocidal race of sentient machines." Kasumi added Shepard shook her head.

"That's beside the point!" Shepard shouted. "Let's say we're stuck in a dark hole, and with no way out. And the only way to get out was to agree to a _Reaper_ would you do it?"

"Goddess no!" Liara responded. "That's a...no!"

"In case you haven't noticed Shepard, we're already trapped in a cave," Sabrina pointed out. "Not only that, but we're also starting to run low on potions and we haven't even gotten out of this thaig.

If we can avoid a battle, I'll take that...especially fighting a battle before we have to face something major which just happens to be in the upcoming room. Not to mention, the demon before us was an abomination, which means it was going to take us a long ass time to fight it and it's cronies," she explained.

"I get that your Reapers are bad, but you have to get that they aren't here. A demon cannot force it's way into your body, you have to willingly allow it AND you have to be a mage, which I am not, of which I did no such thing. So take your anger and focus it on what we're about to face in the next room."

Shepard growled softly, feeling her Cerberus implants flare up. She could care less if her scarring started to show now. "Shepard, you should calm down." Miranda whispered softly, but the Commander was at her wits end. She growled against before taking a step back.

"I'll hold back on this matter then, clearly my anger is misplaced." she declared.

"Indeed it is," Hawke snorted. "I said be cautious of demons. Not once have I told you not to make a deal with them," she pointed out. "I know that demons cannot be trusted to uphold their deals, which is why I had no intention of keeping mine.

In the end, my "deal" got us the information we needed, and kept us from having to fight more profaned."

Shepard exhaled slowly, but she could feel the familiar tingle across her cheek.

"Shepard, you would have done the same thing, wouldn't have you?" Liara asked, Shepard shook her head.

"No, mercenaries cannot be trusted. You either beat it out of them or scare the shit out of them." Shepard responded, Miranda agreed.

"You weren't there, but Shepard did push a man out of a 74th floor window because he wouldn't talk." Kasumi snickered.

"Um...while I'm all for learning about your past, can we get moving?" Varric suggested. "Yes, Hawke made a deal but as you can see no one has turned into an Abomination. So the way I see it, we need to move on."

"Yet." Shepard snarled. "Then before we all know it we're going to be drooling Reaper Husks." Shepard snarled under her breath.

Kasmui spoke up. "I don't really think that's likely Shep," she pointed out.

"Bah, the sooner we're off this rock the better." Shepard growled.

Hawke scoffed. "One decision you don't like and you're at my throat," she said dryly. "Cute," came the dull addition. Walking off toward the other room. Hey companions following after her; Shepard stayed behind for a few moments.

"Shepard..." Liara called softly.

"I get that you're upset Shep, but they are helping us," Kasumi pointed out. "Outside of Anders they haven't called us demons because of our tech, and for Liara and Garrus it was a misunderstanding...I think we should extend the same courtesy.

This is their home after all. They know how it works better than we do."

Shepard looked away from them all. "I know I know." she admitted. "It's just, the way they talk about them, now that I see them. I can only see Harbinger."

Liara approached her once more. "Shepard..."

She would have said more, if a powerful tremor didn't shake the room. Not seconds after did the sound of fighting reach their ears.

"Never force a Mage!" Anders voice wafted to them.

"Alright, I might be out of my league here!" The heard Varric shout.

Merrill's voice carried too. "Creators, that's big!"

"We need to go." Miranda said. "By the sound of it, they're getting slaughtered."

Shepard stood back up, testing her biotics. "Alright, let's make up for my anger." she pulled her sniper rifle off her back and changed the Ammo Mod. "Let's show them how the Normandy Crew really fights."

"We got your six." Kasumi saluted as the group of five ran to catch up.

Hawke was down on one knee; blade sticking into the ground as she used it for support. She panted heavily as she watched her companions fighting against the Ancient Rock Wraith.

"Maker's...breath..." She panted out, as she pushed herself to her feet.

"Take cover!" Anders shouted, when the wraith vanished and appeared in the centre of the room beginning to shake. "It's about to surge again!" He and the other three quickly scrambling to get behind a pillar.

Sabrina was set to do the same; however, she caught Shepard's team out of the corner of her eye. Unsurprisingly Shepard was organizing the attack.

"Shepard! Stop!" She shouted. But the woman didn't hear her. "Shepard!" Charging toward the redhead and tackling her from the side and knocking them both behind the covers of a pillar.

"Fuck!" Shepard shouted as the attack came back in full. A combined barrier between Liara and Miranda protected her squadmates as Shepard felt her implants burn.

"What the hell is that thing?" Shepard snarled as she pushed Hawke off her.

"An Ancient Rock Wraith," Hawke shouted, as the creatures defences fell away. "Attack the centre before it pulls itself together."

"It'll hit it with a hex!" Merrill shouted as she conjured up the spell. "It'll exploit its weaknesses and make it more vulnerable!"

"Rock?" Shepard shook her head. "Look, you've done enough. Tag out and let my team handle it." she held her hand out to Hawke while her squad mates started to move. The sound of guns and tech starting to fill the craven as they experimented.

Sabrina cast a glance out to the field. Her companions were all exhausted; she knew when to stand down. "Fine, she agreed, accepting the older woman's hand getting piles to her feet. "We'll keep the weaker ones off your back."

"Agreed." Shepard said as she grabbed her rifle, flinching slightly before raising a gloved hand to touch the side of her face before turning around to face the battle. "Just, watch our backs, this isn't our first rodeo with something this insane, but anyway." she chuckled before pulling out her pistol and blindly emptied her clip at the demon.

"What's the best way to get it to expose itself?" Shepard asked as she reloaded before switching out to her assault rifle.

"Have it focus on the tank, while the others attack it from a distance," Hawke answered, as she wiped blood coming from her mouth. "That's why I'm so banged up...I may not be a tank but I put myself in it's sights so that my distance fighters could deal steady damage without being interrupted," she informed the Commander.

"Also...you need to be wary of it's vortex ability. It'll draw all of us toward it," the younger woman added. "There's also it turning into into a flying rock ball and attempting to knock you into your next life with the force."

"Hop in anytime here Shep!" Kasumi's voice interrupted, as she cloaked herself just before the wraith swung at her with it's mace; it's flaming head searching around for it's target that was nowhere to be found.

"Then be thankful I'm here then." Shepard saluted before summoning her armour and charging right in, firing from her hip to distract the Rock Wraith. "Keep your distance, Kasumi don't think of striking it!"

Upon being faced with a new challenger, the Wraith quickly focused all it's attention on it's new target. It shifted it's form back to wielding two rock blades before moving toward the Commander; swinging at her with a powerful swipe of it's blade.

Shepard dodged it, but she was unprepared to be hit by lighting.

"Oh! It also fires off lightning shots too!" Hawke added quickly, as she fought off a lower level profane.

"I _see_ that!" Shepard shouted as she recovered from her stagger, noting that her shielding had dropped to forty she started moving backwards to get away before looking at her two biotics.

"Detonate! Do something!" she at them. Liara quickly threw out a Singularity field at the wraith.

"By the Goddess," the scientist breath out as she took in their opponent, who wasn't at all phased by her attack. It did cause the wraith to turn its attention to the asari.

It's body falling apart as it disappeared into the ground...only to reappear a few feet from Liara.

"Move it Blueberry!" Varric shouted as he fired a pinning shot the wraith's way, deflecting it's impending swipe.

Anders and Merrill were both quick to follow up with elemental spells; fire for Anders and ice for Merrill.

"It feels like we're in some type of novel that's a cross between SciFi and Shakespeare," Kasumi commented, as she downed two profanes with her Omni-Tool, while using an Incinerate on another.

"Wouldn't put it past it." Shepard sighed as she emptied her clip while Miranda summoned her biotics and threw a Warp at the Wraith while Liara slammed down with a Shockwave, the two abilities detonating and ripping the rocks apart.

The creature vanished before reappearing in the centre of the room. It's body beginning to shake. "Hit the pillars people!" Sabrina shouted, as she scrambled for cover.

Shepard hissed as she felt the burning of her synthetics as the spike in lyrium increased. She felt near dizzy when the creature released an energy charge; hitting all corners of the room, parting for the pillars, and shielding them all from damage.

When it was done, the wraith's defences dropped leaving it's core open, and vulnerable to harm.

"Shepard! Use the High Explosive Rounds!" Miranda shouted at the Commander who dropped her Mattock, everything suddenly feeling heavy as she pulled the HMWSR Mark X off her back and lifting it as it expanded. "Shepard!"

"Hawke, how strong is that ring of yours?" Kasumi asked quickly, Shepard was unable to fire in time as the Wraith recovered, starting it's rampage all over again.

The rogue dodge an electric shot from a profane. "Pretty strong," she answered between breaths. "Why?"

Kasumi looked at Shepard and back at Hawke quickly before firing off an Incinerate while the two biotics followed up with a detonation and another Singularity that brought the Wraith back down. Shepard, who had not moved raised her gun against as she wrapped her finger around the trigger before firing.

At the same moment, the Wraith releasing it's energy beams, catching the Commander with it's full force since she was the only one not behind a pillar.

"Shepard!" Liara cried out when she saw Shepard thrown back like a ragdoll, Varric held her back.

"It's weak!" Anders shouted as he emerged from cover sending a fireball the creature's way; intent on punishing it's core.

Hawke nodded. "Forget the pawns...take on the king!" she shouted as she emerged from cover. Running quickly toward the centre of the room and hacking into it with her daggers. "It falls and so do they!" referring to the next wave of summoned profane.

"Liara! Check on the Commander!" Miranda ordered as the asari as they started firing their weapons.

"Shepard!" Liara shouted as she cleared the battlefield to Shepard who was getting back up on her feet slowly. "Shepard."

"I'm fine." Shepard pushed Liara back slightly, the Red Lyrium was doing a number on the human, Liara could see her synthetic scarring had gotten worse. "I'm fine."

"You're not a krogan Shepard, back down." Liara tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen.

"I don't know Liara," Shepard breathed as she hefted her weapon and took aim at the creature. She could see it, beginning to reassemble itself; she only had a fleeting window of opportunity. "I think I've got some Krogan DNA in me somewhere.

I mean, there's got to be...I've headbutted two Krogans and my neck hasn't snapped," she added with a chuckle as a smirk came onto her face.

She let out a deep breath before pulling the trigger. The Commander had no idea what happened after that; she passed out the moment the bullet left her gun.

Liara caught the Commander just as the High Explosive Round hit the core, much like the ordeal with the dragon, everything exploded, throwing everyone nearby off their feet as it collapsed for a final time.

"Damn, if everything could be so easy." Kasumi commented as she and Miranda moved closer to the body. The XO raising her Omni-Tool to scan over the remains, frowning at the Red Lyrium readings.

"What's everyone's status?" Miranda asked the group.

The marksman groaned. "I think Bianca's gotten scratched," he responded, as he eyes his precious weapon...he was almost like Shepard with her armour, or Garrus with his rifle.

"My goodness, that was exciting!" Merrill said in too chipper a voice considering the fight they just went through.

Anders groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. "Score one for our heroes," he commented, as he adjusted his robes.

"Shepard's out cold." Liara declared. "Ring of Inversion or not, she took a full hit of that lyrium blast, her synthetics..."

"She's glowing like a mage Blueberry," Varric exclaimed, as he noticed the scarring on the Commander's face. "If she needs to be healed, Anders here can..." He was cut off when the Commander suddenly came around, trying to sit up but struggling to do so. Miranda knelt down in front of the redhead and raised her Omni-Tool, forcing Shepard's armour to administer a little Medi-Gel into her system.

"Did we win?" Shepard exhaled slowly, voice a little hoarse.

"I...don't think we'd be standing here calmly if we didn't," the marksman responded, giving a light chuckle. "You okay there Goldie Locks? You know, it's really hard not to call you 'Glow Worm' especially right now since it looks like your eyes are glowing."

Merrill took the time to study the Commander. "Oh yes! They're like rubies with how they're shining!" she exclaimed. "It's very mesmerizing."

"What?" Shepard blinked twice before closing her eyes, almost concentrating. "Shit."

"It seems that the Red Lyrium has deepened your facial scarring Shepard." Miranda said as she reached out grabbing Shepard by the chin and forcing her head side to side to look at the scaring. "I honestly didn't think this would be a side effect of the Lazarus Project, but it's there. Doctor Chakwas said that if we get new equipment for the Med-Bay-"

The Commander pulled her face from the XO's grasp, even if Miranda did have some sort of right to grab her. The woman did put her back together after all, but still...

"I'm not feeling as bad as I was earlier when I was first exposed to red lyrium," she stated, as she moved to sit on her ass. She searched her mind for reasons as to why that could be; the ring on her finger then caught her eye. "But I guess it's this little thing I have to thank." she grinned at Hawke.

"I'd take the scarring over failed organs any day Hawke. Thanks for indirectly saving my life."

The rogue just let out a chuckle. "No problem," she said, as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Saving lives is totally what I do," a grin coming onto her face as she rocked on her feet.

"Hey, come look at this!" Kasumi called to them. "Found the jackpot. Ooo...this is nice." Bending to pick up a golden sceptre.

"Oh?" Varric sounded as he worked his way over to the thief along with Hawke and her squad. "Let's search through these chests," he said. "We might find something to get us out of here."

The others agreed with that and began rummaging around. Shepard remained seated; it wasn't long before before Hawke took a seat next to her.

"Hawke." Shepard muttered.

"Red Shepard," the rouge greeted, as she laid back on the dirt.

"Another nickname?" Shepard asked as she looked at the woman. "Does it ever stop?"

Hawke let out a chuckle. "I'm afraid not. Besides, you make it hard not to dish them out," she told the Commander, bringing a finger up to trace along the scars on the woman's face; it was a rather intimate gesture, not that it was the rogue's intent to be.

Shepard jerked away from the touch. "You like getting close to people don't you?" she asked quickly.

Sabrina looked bashful. "Sorry," giving an embarrassed grin. "I'm used to physical contact. It's so natural in my culture that I really don't think about how others respond to it.

But, yeah, I like getting close to people," came the admittance, casting her sea green gaze over toward Miranda briefly, which the Commander noticed. "I take it, physical contact bothers you?"

"To an extent." Shepard responded. "If it always did, I don't think Liara would be my bondmate now, would she?"

A chuckle came from the rogue. "No, I don't suppose she would," she conceded. "I don't think I could make it without physical contact. I'd probably lose it," giving a light laugh as she spoke, before silence fell between them.

"So what's your plans when you get back?" Shepard changed the subject. "You must miss your sister."

The younger woman gave a nod, showing that Shepard was correct in her assumption. "I do...I miss my family really...including Carver and Uncle," giving an amused laugh, as she added them in. It was true though, despite her not getting along well with either of the males, they were still her family.

"As for plans...hopefully, all this treasure that we bring back to the surface will catch us a good price," Sabrina continued. "I'll leave that to Varric. If it's as valuable as I know it is, we'll have the money to get my mother's childhood home back.

She's been very...sad...since coming here, and I'd like to give her back something familiar. Something that will make her happy," came the explanation. "And being around uncle certainly isn't helping that matter."

"Well I hope things will change for the better." Shepard said to Hawke as she stood up. "I myself have things to tend to when I get home. Someone needs to stop the Collectors and I sure as hell won't be doing it here on this planet."

"Found it!" Kasumi shouted holding up a heavy looking key. "I got our meal ticket outta here!"

Sabrina remained on the ground, a playful smile on her lips. "Taking Miranda away from me," she said, not noticing that the woman in question had heard her name and had turned to look over at the two women. "That certainly is a depressing thought. Don't suppose she could 'accidentally' be left here?" arching an eyebrow the older woman's way.

Shepard levelled Hawke with a look.

"Sorry but I need my Executive Officer." she said. "Not to mention, she wants off this rock just as much as I do."

"My Second in Command? You running yourself a harem there Red Shepard?" Hawke teased, as she pulled herself up from the ground. "But, I suppose a Blight is a pressing issue...people dying and all. It's certainly bad for business...unless you're an arms dealer or smuggler or in any other profession that thrives during war times," giving another chuckle as her usual charm asserted itself, as she dusted herself off.

"Besides...I think I accidentally offended her earlier...and I don't think she's forgiven me for whatever mistake I made."

"Hawke." Shepard looked at her. "You know, once we leave, we're probably not going to come back. At least, not until the war is over, and that's if we win."

The light skinned woman scratched the side of her head. "I try not to think about that fact," she confessed, before shifting her gaze to the XO. "But...I don't think she wants to have anything to do with me after that misunderstanding," she sighed heavily before running a hand through her hair.

"There are certain things about Miranda you need to know, certain things that are not my place to say." Shepard said as she stretched out her back. "There are some things about us, that would take maybe a lifetime for you to understand."

Sabrina let out a bemused chuckle. "Well Shepard, considering my line of work, and yours, I'd say that new lifetime could be at any moment.

People who do what we do rarely get to die of natural causes," she pointed out. "We get either a sword, or arrow, or those tiny holes that you put in people."

Shepard laughed as she walked away towards her own group.

"Amen to that Hawke, amen to that."

* * *

"Hmm...I'd say this is our way back," Varric stated, as the group stood before a long corridor.

"How long to get back?"

He turned his attention towards Hawke. "If we're unlucky, maybe the full three weeks," he guessed.

"And if we're lucky?" she inquired.

The dwarf took off walking. "We stumble over Bartrand's corpse on the way," he responded, causing Hawke to chuckle as the rest of the group followed after him.

* * *

"By the ancestors, sweet loving daylight!" Varric exclaimed as they emerged from the Deep Roads and into the wilderness. "Just smell that clean air," inhaling deeply as he said do.

The blood mage looked confused. "Um, Varric...it's night time," she pointed out, highly confused at his choice of words.

The marksman chuckled. "Merely an expression Daisy," he informed her. "Day. Night. I'm just happy to have made it out of that Blighted place in one piece," earning nods from all around.

"Again, why I left the Wardens," Anders spoke up, as he looked up into the night sky, seeing the huge moon filling the starlit sky. "Pretty much the life of a Warden. Spending your existence within the dark, hunting darkspawn until they eventually kill you...or worse."

"It is a beautiful place." Liara spoke as she drew up her hood. "Untainted, pure, it's not something you wish to be changed." she earned a chuckle from Kasumi.

"This is where we must part ways." Shepard said as she lowered her Omni-Tool. "My crewmates are on their way with supplies we need to get the Element Zero we need out of the Deep Roads. I reckon you want to be on your way home to your family."

"Well I certainly do Goldie Locks," Varric stated. "My brother and I have some catching up to do," grit in his voice as he spoke, clenching his fists in anger.

"Sounds like what Flemeth said to you up on Sundermount came true after all," Sabrina pointed out, recalling the woman's words at that very moment. "Keep him close and he will betray you. Each time worse than the last," quoting what the woman had said to them nearly two months ago.

"Unfortunately for Bartrand, I won't give him the opportunity to do it again," he stated firmly. "His own brother over an idol..." shaking his head in disappointment.

Anders looked around. "Judging by the landscape, I believe we're in the Planasene Forest," he commented. "Not too far from Kirkwall...we can reach the city by morning if we travel through the night."

"Well this certainly isn't a detour I wish to repeat again." Miranda said. "Hopefully Mordin has found an answer to why the Element Zero degraded as fast as it did when we botched that FTL Jump."

"Maybe, maybe not." Shepard looked back at Hawke and held out her hand, they could hear the hum of the Kodiak in the distance. "This is goodbye Hawke."

The rogue grinned, taking the Commander's hand. "_Dareth shiral_," speaking in Elven tongue.

Shepard looked confused. "It means: Farewell, and safe journey," she translated.

"Then _keelah se'lai."_ Shepard responded in turn, smiling when she noticed the expressions on Hawke's companions. "It's Kelish, the Quarian tongue. It means 'By the homeworld I hope to see one day." she explained. "It's their common departure greeting, or wish of good luck."

Sabrina gave a nod before stepping back. She would have said more, but a smaller, star metal ship arrived carrying another. Just before it landed it dropped off the first ship that settled down softly, floating about the ground before the other landed, doors opening to reveal more of Shepard's companions.

The rogue knew time was fleeting, and she needed to act before the opportunity passed her by. While the Commander was distracted by recent arrivals, Hawke took the opportunity to make her way over to Miranda.

She cleared her throat to gain the woman's attention. "Miranda..." she began.

"Hawke." Miranda responded as she turned around.

"I wanted...I wanted to apologize for earlier," she clarified. While she seemed to be collected on the outside, inside her heart was hammering against her rib cage. Not even fighting darkspawn, or dragons, or ancient wraiths had her heart pounding like this. "I confess, I did not, and still don't, understand your anger to what I said.

However, I offended you, and for that I wanted to apologize. That was not my intention," looking rather sheepish as she spoke. Miranda looked at her.

"Apology accepted." she said, almost too quickly, but Hawke was going to take it anyway.

"Perfect timing Commander." Garrus spoke as he walked up to Shepard. "Any longer I think we were going to start eating each other." he joked.

"Well what we need is in there." Shepard pointed to the Deep Roads. "The Hammerhead is probably just what we need to mine the ore."

The rogue grinned. "I did mean what I said though," she commented, referring to what she had said that had set Miranda off in the first place. "I do want to get close to you," came the statement, as she took a step toward the XO. "Just...not in the way you assumed...not that I wouldn't!" she added quickly. "I mean...that would be nice...but not my motivating reason and..." A heavy sigh. "Maker, I'm beginning to act like Merrill," she muttered, as she rubbed at the bridge of her nose; a light flush staining her cheeks.

"It's not going to happen Hawke." Miranda said. "We are two different people living two different lives. This is where we say goodbye."

The younger woman snorted. "You're as bad as Shepard," she remarked. "We may be two different people, living two very different lives but somehow, they managed to intersect.

Who is to say that they won't again?" came the challenge. "That our lives," Gesturing toward the two groups, who were chatting away. "Haven't become interwoven with each other, connecting us together?"

"If it happens again, it happens again." Miranda responded. "Don't keep your hopes up."

Sabrina let out a chuckle as she took another step toward the Australian; who had yet to move back or say anything about her advancement. Something Hawke was infinitely grateful for, because it allowed her to bask in the woman's scent.

"I am not the type that does not hope, Serah," she pointed out. "It is not who I am." Fighting every urge in her body to not reach out and touch the woman before her.

"Hawke, I know what you're trying to do." Miranda said. "The answer is no, I am not interested in women."

The rogue took a step back, a small frown appearing on her normally grinning face. "Do not assume you know my intentions Serah. Just as I do not know you in detail, you do not know me...I am not that type of person," she stated firmly, before taking another step away from the XO. "_Dareth shiral_, Miranda," she said to the older woman before turning and heading toward her companions.

She said her final farewells before she and her companions left, not casting another glance Miranda's way and leaving the older woman confused.

"She seemed to speak riddles around you." Samara spoke as she approached the Cerberus Operative. "Maybe she is right, her intent is not as obvious as we are lead to believe."

"Maybe." Miranda crossed her arms. "For now, let us worry about getting home." she walked away from the Justicar and towards the rest of the crew.

Home, it seemed so much closer now.

* * *

"Home, sweet home. Finally," the marksman announced as they stepped into the city of Kirkwall. He then turned to face Hawke. "I wonder if Bartrand came back to the city? You think I'd be that lucky?"

Sabrina chuckled. "Probably not. If Bartrand has half a brain, he'd try to put as much distance as possible between his innards and Bianca," she teased.

The dwarf chuckled as well. "Thankfully, we didn't come away empty handed," he pointed out. "The treasure we found in that crypt far outstrips Bartrand's stupid idol. He'll be green with envy when he finds out."

Sabrina laughed, while Merrill and Anders departed. Each wanting to get back to their own lives after their journey; not to mention be away from each other. Leaving only Hawke and Varric together.

"As soon as I get the chance, I'll look up my contacts to make sure we get the best price," he informed her. "I'll image you'll want to head home, tell your family the good news? We're going to be rich." he stated, before walking off, leaving Hawke on her own.

For the first time in a long while, she walked down the streets of Hightown with a smile on her face. Mother, Bethany, and Carver were going to be so happy; they wouldn't be living with uncle Gamlen anymore. They were going to be moving up very quickly in the world.

* * *

That smile was wiped from her face when she entered into Gamlen's and saw a Templar there. Her sister dressed in robes that she had never seen before, and her brother...wearing Templar armour as well. She glanced around.

"What's going on?" she demanded to know, stepping further into the house.

Bethany approached her. "Please don't do anything," she begged, knowing that she sister was moments away from doing something indeed.

Sabrina knew this templar. It was Knight-Captain Cullen. "Mistress Bethany is being taken to the Circle of Magi in the Gallows," he informed the elder Hawke sibling, not even looking at her as he spoke those words. "Your brother has requested we make an exception for her."

"I told you sister." Carver pointed at Sabrina. "That I would make you regret not bringing us with you."

The eldest sibling snarled. "We were betrayed and left to die down there Carver!" she snarled at him, clenching her fist to tightly that her nails dug into her palms. "Is that what you would have wanted?!

I left you both here in order to protect you both," came the additional comment. "And you repay that by not only joining the Templar Order but handing over our sister to them, after all the years spent trying to keep her from that place?!" Advancing toward her brother with each word spoke.

No, she decided. The man before her was not her brother any longer; not after doing something so hurtful. Carver wanted to hurt her, but did not see that his actions affected more than just her.

"If it is the only way to bring change to this family then yes!" Carver shouted back. "You ran off with that new star metal apostate friend of yours and forgot about us!"

The frown on Sabrina face cut deep, so deep it was a wonder her head didn't split in two. "You selfish, ungrateful, whiny, pissy little bastard!" she roared as him, as she stalked up to him. "And you think turning Bethany over is what's best for this family!?

You're destroying it! Everything mother and father worked toward, you've gone and thrown that all away!" jabbing him in his armour covered chest, with her fingers. "You bitch, and moan, and complain about being in my shadow with the truth is Carver, you aren't even in my shadow!" slicing into him with her words, which is what she wanted.

"The reason no one ever notices you, or why you didn't get picked in the city guard, is because there is nothing about you that stands out, outside of your self entitled attitude!" the rogue hissed at him. "You have no qualities of a leader, nothing about you that makes people want to follow you...you couldn't even follow orders as a soldier!

And the move you've just pulled now? ...further proof that you have no leadership qualities. Instead of coming at me directly, you attack me like a spineless coward, by turning our sister over to the Circle!" Finally snapping in her rant as she snapped back, and allowed her fist to collide with his face, sending Carver to the ground.

He was stunned. He didn't ever remember his sister's hits being so strong; there was actually blood in his mouth. He made a move to get up, but she put her foot on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"I should kill you for this," Sabrina hissed at him, eyes, for the first time ever filled with pure hate as she looked at her brother. If he had been able to hold her gaze long enough, he would have seen endless hurt hidden behind the anger. "You're making me wish and regret that I hadn't saved you from that Ogre...maybe we'd have been better off without you."

"I must interrupt." Cullen stepped between them before it could go any further. "This apostate you spoke of? Where can we find him?"

"Her." Carver corrected as he looked at the Knight-Captain. "Some self-righteous woman who goes by the name of Commander Shepard." he looked at his sister. "Do tell us sister. Where is that woman?"

Sabrina took her foot off his chest, before pulling her leg back and kicking him in the head. Sending the younger man into a coughing fit. "Sorry...I can't seem to remember...must have been my time spent in the Deep Roads," she responded. She was set to strike Carver again, and would have done just that, had the familiar arms of Bethany hadn't wrapped around her arm.

"Sabrina, stop." Bethany spoke softly. "It's done, there isn't anything we can do."

A tired, defeated sigh came from the older girl. She knew her sister was right; she'd know that the moment she stepped into the house and saw two Templars...one of whom was her brother. But, it wasn't in her nature to simply accept things...she was a fighter. It was what she did. She fought against things to make them better...but, this was something she couldn't make better.

This was something she couldn't fight...or Bethany would be the one to suffer for it.

She turned to face the younger woman before pulling her into a tight hug. "I know," whispering into the mage's hair, as she felt Bethany wrap her arms around her waist. "I just...I'm supposed to protect you. You're my baby sister...and I...I failed you." Trying to fight off the painful ache that had built up in her throat.

"Everything is going to be fine sis." Bethany took that step back. "I'll make it through, besides, you have friends like Shepard now too, you can't always be there for me."

The rogue just squeezed tighter at Bethany's words. Shepard, that was a thought. Maybe...maybe she could help. Maybe she could take Bethany to that place Merrill saw in Liara's mind.

Sitkel? Sitadial? It didn't matter what the name was, as long as Bethany wasn't in the Circle, practically any place would do.

"Oh Bethany," their mother breathed out. "What will happen to you?" she asked, eyes filled with unshed tears.

The mage of the family gave her a reassuring smile. Removing herself from her sister's embrace to go and embrace their mother. "Don't worry mother, I'll be fine," she insisted, before turning her attention back to her sister. She then threw her arms around the older girl once more. "Look after her," she ordered, talking into Sabrina's shoulder.

She received a firm squeeze in response. They stayed that way for as long as they could before Carver insisted that it was time for them to go; cutting his eyes away from their emotional scene.

Their mother collapsed on the ground before the templars and Bethany were out of the door. The rest of the night was spent attempting to console their mother. This was the first time in Sabrina's life where she could not fight...and she felt completely, and utterly helpless.

* * *

_Shepard_. That was the only thing that rang true in Hawke's mind the following morning as she ran towards the outskirts of Kirkwall. She could get her companions together. Get Bethany, take her with them. To a world where magic wasn't feared.

All of that drained out of her though when she caught a glimpse of something shining in the morning sunlight. Her gaze turned skyward; that was...it was...

"Shepard!" She shouted the name in pure desperation. Even though she knew there was no chance that the woman could have heard her.

The Normandy was airborne. Slowly rising above the treeline, hovering there like a phantom. There was no way that Hawke could have known Shepard's team could move so quickly in the Deep Roads with their star metal equipment, it had only been a week since they had parted ways at the entrance.

"Shepard! Shepard! SHEPARD!" She shouted the woman's name, but the ship never came to her, it turned away instead.

"Hawke!" it was Aveline, probably on a patrol. "What are you shouting at?"

The younger woman ignored her, eyes still trained in the distance as the Normandy finally started to move, arching upwards into the sky. "No, no, no...," she muttered, before tripping over the ground collapsing onto her knees.

By the time Aveline looked up the Normandy was gone. She didn't see anything.

"Ha...Sabrina." she knelt down beside the other woman. "What happened? Why were you shouting for Shepard?"

The woman in question cast her gaze downward; digging her nails into the dirt, as she curled them into fists. Her body trembling as the full weight of last night began settling in on her.

"Carver...he...he became a Templar..." Sabrina struggled to get out. "Bethany...she...he..." She couldn't even finish the rest of the sentence, as a broken sob escape her throat.

Bethany was gone. Carver was gone. Shepard. Miranda. And suddenly everything she had been striving toward was pointless. Absolutely pointless.

And, Sabrina did something she hadn't done in years...she wept.

* * *

"The Shepherd just left? Like that?" Cassandra spoke up after a period of silence. Countless questions plagued her mind but she knew Varric was not the one to ask. No, for those answers she needed to find the Shepherd herself. "There must be more to this story. If they were both involved in events you have not spoke of."

The shorter of the two stretched; cracking his neck in the process. "Indeed there is Seeker," he agreed, as he stood from his seat. "And you will find out more of it tomorrow.

Normally I don't get tired while in the middle of a tale. Must be the lack of ale," he quipped with a smirk.

"Just one question." she held up her hand. "Answer it honestly in your opinion and I might accommodate your request." that sounded rather giving of her, too giving. "Would have the Shepherd taken Bethany with her? She knew the risks mages possess."

He was silent for a few moments. "You have to understand Seeker, they don't view magic the way we do," he informed her. "Despite the incident with Anders, they had their views, just as we have ours.

But, yes, Shepard would have taken Bethany," came his honest answer.

"Then how does their society work?" She asked slowly. "This is most unusual."

He smirked, wagging his finger at her. "Ah, ah, ah Seeker...you said one question," he pointed out.

"The question was not for you!" she snapped. Looking at Varric. "Go. Be on your merry way. We will continue at dawn."

He chuckled as he walked out of the room. "Sleep well Seeker," he said, as he walked down the hall. "Sleep well."

She didn't.

* * *

_Stardust A/N:_ The end of the first arc... meant to put up the chapter yesterday... but... Bioshock: Infinite. (the feels). Not to mention that problem with those email alerts.

We are still working on Chapter 12, it's just taking longer to write... maybe because there is more content, or I'm trying to force a slower pace for the scenes...


	12. Chapter 12

**Stardust A/N: **Welcome to the Second Arc! Now we're trying something not commonly seen in Mass Effect x Dragon Age stories. Just a fair warning, we're doing to be dealing with some of the lore now, things will be changing, and not entirely cannon. It will make sense as we go, hopefully...

Just another note, since it is not stated. (That is why the AN is at the top of the chapter and not the bottom.) The Orbital Cycle for Hawke's Homeworld is shorter than Shepard's. Feel free to come up with your own theories. I just stated that Shepard's calendar year is, well the Human Calendar Year. For Hawke's, her's is twelve thirty day months, each day is twenty [human] hours long. So one year for Hawke is 9 Months, 3 Weeks for Shepard.

This was done solely to get storylines to match up, and I apologize if that ruins anyone's headcannon.

ONWARDS!

* * *

Shepard looked both ways before tugging on the hem of her sweater once to straighten it out before walking forward into the building. It was a research lab, cluttered yet clean, much like her own cabin back on the _Normandy_. She kept walking before coming to a stop before a fragment, a Reaper Fragment, _Sovereign_.

"Vanguard of our destruction." she commented dryly to herself, mostly for amusement. "How you holding up there buddy?" she chuckled to herself before pausing. It had been maybe, just over a year since she had seen Hawke last, having returned back to modern day society, taking down the Shadow Broker, Destroying the Collector Base, stopping Project Overlord and then finally destroying the Alpha Relay.

All before turning herself back over to the Alliance.

"I want you to match this against all known locations and update it on the galaxy map. The contact the field teams for a progress report." she heard a man speak as she slowly turned around to see the two men working the lab.

"Yes sir." the assistant said as the doctor turned around.

"Commander Shepard." he said when he saw her. "Perfect timing." he picked up a datapad. "Hadley can you send me the Leviathan data over?" the assistant nodded as he made the notion for the Commander to follow her. "Apologies Commander, the rest of my team is out investigating leads right now." he lead her into the another room that had the Galaxy Map displayed. "I am Doctor Garrett Bryson; and this is task force Aurora." he held his hand out and Shepard grasped it in a firm shake. "I'm thankful that you found the time to come by, I heard about what happened on Tuchunka."

"Just a little downtime." Shepard admitted. "We're still trying to locate the Migrant Fleet." she said. "But I'm just biding my time, Cerberus will probably do something stupid sooner or later to piss everyone off."

"I wouldn't jinx yourself there Commander." he looked at her. "Unless that's what you're hoping they'll do."

"If it will lessen their numbers." she chuckled. "That aside, what is your assignment?"

"Our mandate is to investigate legends, rumours, old stories about the Reapers before anyone knew they existed." Bryson explained Shepard crossed her arms.

"That is an interesting goal, but is anyone doubting the Reapers exist these days?"

"The Alliance is still desperate for intelligence, Reaper motives, their operation tactics, origins" he listed. "Anything that can give us an edge."

"Then how did you end up in charge?" Shepard asked, leaning back, crossing her arms, Bryson moved slightly.

"When the galaxy says something doesn't exist I take that as a chance to prove that is does." he said looking at her. "Just like how you proved magic exists on that remote planet a year ago."

"So you're in it for the challenge." Shepard responded

"The truth." he said as he moved to the web of images and yellow post it notes connected together by red yawn on his wall. "Even as late as 2141 humanity still thought aliens were a myth." he looked at her. "That was within my lifetime." Shepard nodded when he said this, she was only three years old when the First Contact War happened, everything was so recent. "Once that myth was proven to be reality, our entire history changed, religions struggling to rewrite themselves, it was a mess."

"And the Reapers were part of that reality too." she muttered

"Even they have a history Commander." he said "If we can just uncover it, then there might be a weakness we can exploit." he held out a datapad to her.

"I could have used your help three years ago." she sighed, almost sarcastic in her tone, he agreed.

"Yes, if they had only listen to you and your Prothean Beacon we might not be in the war." he admitted as he turned to the map. "But with the new information we've uncovered and the data you and Doctor T'Soni collected on that planet a year ago, I am positive a breakthrough is near." He started typing as Shepard moved closer to his web, looking over the images. "There might just be a connection we need."

"Hadley!" Bryson shouted. "Do you have the data?" the assistant walked into the room, the Commander still with her back turned, she missed him raising a gun with his trembling hands.

"No!" he shouted before firing his pistol, the shot caught her attention as she saw Bryson fall. The pistol slowly being turned in her direction. Shepard moved, throwing her datapad at him, shot going wide, before tackling him to the ground. Seeing that he was unconscious she placed her hand against her earpiece.

"This is Commander Shepard. I need C-Sec at my location now!" she snapped.

"You shouldn't be here." Hadley spoke softly. "The darkness can't be breached."

* * *

Shepard paced back and forth as the two C-Sec Guards, both Turian, Shepard would dare say they were twins, they looked alike. Hadley was sitting on a plastic chair, still unconscious, the first Turian spoke.

"Transit records show his name is Derek Hadley, he's worked here for a couple months." he said, Shepard stopped pacing.

"Shepard." EDI's voice cut her off, three of them too look up to see EDI's platform walk into the lab. "I monitored a C-Sec alert from this location, were you harmed?" she asked Shepard shook her head.

"I'm fine, but I could use your help sorting this out EDI." she admitted. "Take a look through their files, see what you can find, I'll be with you in a moment."

"At once." EDI answered, Shepard turned around and Hadley suddenly came to.

"What? I...what? What's happening?" he asked meekly, Shepard crossed her arms.

"You just shot your boss, he's dead, why?" she snarled.

"After you arrived, everything was dark, cold, like I was somewhere else." he started to explain, Shepard frowned as she stormed up to him grabbed him by his arm and forced him over to Bryson's body.

"Take a good fucking look." she snapped. "You did that, you pulled the trigger and killed him." he looked surprised, traumatized even.

"No, no... I couldn't have! No!" he started shouting, the two turians shaking their heads. "I am not a murderer!"

"So you're telling me that someone else pulled that trigger?" Shepard asked, disbelieving.

"But I would never do that!" Hadley shouted, holding his head.

"Commander." EDI spoke, attracting their attention as she looked over from the console she was working at. "This does resemble reports of indoctrination."

"Indoctrination?" Hadley asked as he stood up. "Me?"

"How does that Leviathan tie into this?" Shepard asked, changing the subject.

"It's some kind of creature, our field teams have been tracking it." Hadley answered before turning to look at the glowing orb they had behind glass. "We had that artifact come in from one of our researchers, Garneau. He sent and audio log if you wanna-" he stopped, shouted out in pain as he doubled over, clutching his head as he fell to his knees.

"Turn back." he spoke again, his voice emotionless.

"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked before feeling a sudden pulse, her heart skipping a beat or three.

"The darkness cannot be breached." Hadley spoke.

"The darkness?" she struggled to say as Hadley's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed. "Shit." she looked at the turians. "Get him over to the clinic, get them to see what's wrong with them." she told them, they nodded and gathered the assistant. Shepard moved closer to the artifact, frowning, this feeling, while not as strong, she had experienced it before, in the Deep Roads.

"Could a previous cycle be connected?" she asked herself softly, wondering, there was no way the Reapers could be involved with Hawke's world, she came to that conclusion while detained.

"Commander, you'll want to see this." EDI spoke. "It's an outgoing message from Doctor Bryson to Admiral Hackett."

"Just a moment." Shepard said, thinking to herself. "EDI, do we still have the coordinates to Hawke's homeworld?"

"We do." EDI responded. "Is there a reason for the sudden interest Commander?"

"Yes." Shepard said, "I think a mage might be able to help us out here." she gave the artifact a closer look. "Or give us another view we don't have." she turned to look at EDI. "Show me that video."

* * *

_The treasure we found in the Deep Roads made us a fortune. The Champion moved up in the world. Literally. Bought a mansion in Hightown. Everyone knew who she was now. Even the Viscount was taking notice._

_Hell she even became friends with the Prince of Starkhaven._

_But the Qunari still hadn't left. They insisted that they were still waiting for their ship. But some of us knew better..._

_It was a year and a half later when things started to pick up again. The Reapers,Shepard's Blight, had attacked, and had taken her home..._

_That's when we realized time was different for the Shepard than it was for the Champion. A year to us, was much less for the Shepard..._

* * *

"Whoa...I can't believe Doc was actually being serious," Vega said as he looked at the massive stone building that towered over him. "It's like being inside of a fantasy book," he commented, as he followed behind the Commander.

True to her discussion with EDI, Shepard was back on Hawke's homeworld. Her team wasn't as large as it was the last time she was here, so options for the ground team were slim. Outside of herself there was only Vega, Joker, Cortez, and Samantha along with the rest of the massive humman squad among the ship.

Out of all of them, only one of them had been in battle and knew could cover her six if things went south.

"Indeed." Shepard sighed. "What a mess, I didn't really want to come back." she ran her hand through her hair. Neither of them were in armour, both of them had a pistol. Shepard figured they really didn't need it. Not during the day.

Of course she had also failed to realize how their Alliance Uniforms also stood out as well.

"It's only been, what... maybe fourteen months since I was here last. So things might have changed, probably have changed." Shepard continued. "But if anything is consistent with people who love to drink and hang out."

"Is the bar." James smirked. "Now this is my kind of mission!" he exclaimed with a grin. "If I have to drink and become wasted I'll do it for the sake of the mission.

Anything to help to stop the Reapers."

"Yeah." Shepard gave him a rather flat look. "Their beer is crap, you'd have to pay me to get drunk off it."

"Hey, hey...booze is booze," he countered, earning a shake of the Commander's head. The pair continued walking until they came upon a sight Shepard wouldn't forget; the Hanged Man. "And they draw people in with this sign Lola?"

"Not quite the pretty sight is it eh?" Shepard placed her hands on her hips as she gave him a sidelong glance. "But if the place hasn't gone out of business yet, they must be doing something right."

Seconds after she spoke a man came sailing out of the second story window; landing roughly on the ground by the soldiers feet. Shepard looked down at him before kicking him lightly with the toe of her boot, the man was out.

"Or we're looking at one of Robin Hood's pubs... or something eh." Shepard sighed. "Shall we go in? Or look elsewhere?"

"Oh, we are definitely going in," the muscular marine stated before heading eagerly for the door; Shepard chuckled in amusement before following him

Just like the first time she entered the Hanged Man, she ended up being hit on seconds after she walked through the door.

Of course this time she didn't go for the diplomatic approach, she decked him with a good right hook. He was out before he even hit the ground; it was enough of a demonstration to deter any other men from approaching her.

"Yeah...it definitely feels like I've gone back in time," Vega commented as he took in the sight of rowdy, drunk and happy customers. "What next? Pirates?" he asked her jokingly.

"We have pirates back home Vega." Shepard sighed as she rubbed the back of her head. "I mean, who else runs those smuggling rings?"

"I meant the 'arrrgh, matey,' kind," he pointed out. "You know with a hook for a hand and pet parrot?"

"James." Shepard sighed as she moved to lean against a barrel serving a table before flinching back, the surface was sticky. "Urgh, we'll find ourselves a pirate here, I can guarantee that, but no Captain Hook."

"Captain Hook?" came a familiar voice to the Commander. "What type of name is that for a pirate?"

"Whoa..." Vega muttered as he eyed the dark skinned woman before him.

A smirk coming onto her lips. "Well aren't you such a big, strong man," the pirate cooed as she eyed Vega. "I could use someone like you on my crew when I get my new ship.

Tell me, you know how to sail right? How to keep the motions strong and fluid?" her tone becoming sultry as she spoke to him, stepping closer to the taller man.

"Isabela." Shepard sounded, rolling her eyes. "You already tried to steal my pilot, can you not steal my marine?"

"Not stealing love. Merely recruiting," Isabela corrected with a smirk. "Besides, I don't think it's really fair for you to have such yummy looking crewmen. You should share them," she insisted, eyeing the tattooed man's muscles. "And you know we're all about sharing in this group."

James chuckled softly as Shepard face palmed slightly.

"Rivani, what's taking so long with the drinks? Don't tell me you've found another...Goldie Locks?" Varric said in surprise as he walked toward the bar, spotting the pirate and an unexpected sight.

He then noticed Vega, who was trying his hardest not to stare at the pirate's chest. "Got another plaything I see," he spoke to the pirate in amusement. "So, Goldie Locks...I must admit I'm surprised to see you here," he stated, as he approached further.

Drinks forgotten...for the moment.

"Damn Lola." James said as he finally tore his eyes away from Isabela and down at Varric. "You have all sorts of friends." Shepard waved him off.

"I didn't plan on coming back, not so soon anyway." Shepard sighed. "Shit happened back home, came here for a little help, I need someone who's an expert with the Fade, and well... Hawke just so happens to know at least three people who are."

"Well we certainly do have three mages up for grabs," Varric. "Well...two mages to be more accurate," he amended, earning Shepard's attention.

"Two?" Shepard asked, confused. "It's only been a year, what the hell happened?"

The pirate looked at her oddly. "A year?" She echoed. "It's been a year and _a half_ darling," came the information.

"As as for what happened..." The marksman began sighing. "Well...lets just say my brother wasn't the only one in a betraying mood."

"Don't tell me we lost Bethany." Shepard asked.

"Okay, I won't tell you then," the dwarf responded.

Isabela frowned. "Carver got too big for his breeches," she commented, lacking her usual sultry and playful tone. "And like a coward attempted to assert his dominance over his sister while Hawke was away in the Deep Roads.

Ugh, I still haven't found a reason not to slit his throat and toss him into the river," she added, while rubbing at her forehead.

She had very much liked the youngest Hawke. Seeing Bethany as something of a younger sibling herself; so, when she had heard the news-from Aveline no less-she had been stunned...as well as infuriated.

"That's who we wanted, wasn't it? Commander." James asked slowly while Shepard stood there clenching and unclenching her fist. She never got to know Bethany, hell, most of Hawke's squad, all that well, but Bethany reminded her of some the children back on Earth during her childhood.

"Fuck." Shepard sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "We might have to do this project without outside help then."

"Why do you need a Mage anyway Goldie Locks?" Varric asked curiously, while signaling her and her partner to follow him to the back of the tavern. "I'd assumed with all of your non-magic you can do just as much damage, or more, as a Mage."

"Yes, but it isn't magical ability that we're looking for." Shepard said. "It's knowledge."

"Oh?" He responded as he entered into his room; followed by the others, Isabela shutting the door behind them. "Knowledge of what Goldie Locks?"

"Demons... your so called Fade... that kind of myth and lore." Shepard answered as she reached into the bag she had with her and pulled out a file folder. "I lost my expert just two days ago." she tossed it into the table. "Doctor Garrett Bryson. He was studying the Reaper Origins."

"EDI, Shepard and Doc have been trying to piece everything together." James said. "There was a case of indoctrination as well..."

"But it wasn't like typical Reaper Indoctrination." Shepard added. "I was there, I got the same feeling I got when we were in those Deep Roads."

Both the pirate and dwarf eyes the folder. Isabela picking it up and inspecting it; characters written on it that she did not recognize or understand.

"So you're saying that there may be a connection between our world and yours?" He ventured, to which the Commander nodded. He say back in his seat, thinking. "I don't suppose you'd be comfortable enough to take Anders after the little Deep Roads incident?"

"Anders isn't going anywhere near my ship." Shepard said firmly. "After that stint with Liara I fear what he might do if a Turian looked at him the wrong way."

"I thought this would be easier." she sighed. "I might just have to find Alex Garneau on my own."

"He's gotten better," the pirate voiced, putting the file back on the table. "Hawke helps him focus, and his anger turns into controlled Justice," she informed the redhead.

"Yeah, just remember where I am from." Shepard said. "Magic might be accepted. But Humanity are still the newcomers to the Galaxy. Besides. There is no Fade."

"No Fade?" Isabela echoed. "And you wish to take a Mage where there isn't one?

Are you insane?" She asks of the Commander.

"If I was sane I wouldn't have stopped Saren and the Geth three years ago." Shepard sighed. "My society has been around for countless generations, civilizations have risen and fallen. The Fade might be out there, but it might just be empty."

"No Fade for a Mage means Tranquility," Varric informed her. "An irreversible thing and something no mage wants.

It sucks away their very personality," he explained. "But still...this is probably something you should be discussing with Hawke."

"Where can I find her?" Shepard asked.

"I think she's out and about right now, so there's really no telling with her," the marksman responded with a chuckle. "But, you can go to her estate in Hightown.

I'll lead you there," he offered. "She's bound to return home sooner or later."

"Very well." Shepard agreed while playing with the sleeve of her shirt slightly. "Better than nothing."

* * *

The moment Shepard stepped through the door she was attacked by Sabris. It was like the dog had a sixth sense for her or something; rearing up on his hind legs to shower her face with slobbery kisses. Barking in excitement and wagging his tail. She had caught him before he could attack her properly. Holding him back until he settled back on all fours.

"Hawke here?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Wait...did he just answer you Lola?" Vega inquired in surprise looking at the dog. The beast almost as big as a Varren.

"These dogs, War Hounds." Shepard gestured to them. "Are scary smart."

Sabris let out a bark of agreement, his tail wagging too.

Varric chuckled. "Hawke say she'd be back soon?" He asked of the Mabari.

He ran around in a circle once, barking rapidly, before coming to a stop in front of the group.

"This is just freaky," Vega remarked. "What do they feed em? Human brains?"

A funny thing happened. Sabris actually made a face, before making gagging noises; showing he certainly did not like the thought.

"Labradors are smart too." Shepard answered. "I remember..." she paused before chuckling. "Damn I was such a kid back then."

A whine came from the dog as he looked up at her curiously. Almost as if he were asking her to continue.

Another chuckle from the dwarf. "I leave them in your capable paws Lieutenant Sabris," he said, saluting the dog. "Watch over them until Hawke returns."

"We won't burn the place down." Shepard said as she walked deeper into the home. "Actually. Vega. Can you go back to the ship and get EDI and Liara for me?" she asked before reaching into her bag and pulling out some supplies. "I'm going to keep looking over Byrson's work for the time being."

Sabris huffed at that, not believing her words. Successfully earning a laugh from the redhead, as well at a pat on the head.

"No problem Lola," he responded before turning and heading out the door with Varric.

"Hello," came the creepy greeting from Sandal, when he entered into the main room and saw Shepard.

"Jeezus!" Shepard nearly jumped at the sudden greeting. "Sandal? Is that you?"

He stepped further into the room so she could see him. "Enchantment?" He asked her curiously as he smiled...which creeped her out a bit.

"No. Not enchantment." Shepard said as she set up her personal terminal and plugged in a few devices."

He pointed at her chest. "Enchantment," he stated.

"Me?" Shepard asked as she pointed at herself.

"Ring. Enchantment," he clarified, and it suddenly clicked in her mind.

"Oh." she set the data disk into her computer before turning back to Sandal. Pulling out her dog tags and ring. "You mean this?" she pulled the necklace off from around her neck.

He nodded, as he accepted what was handed to him. "Needs enchantment," he said, as he inspected his work.

"Ooo...Kay." Shepard sounded as she turned back to her computer and raised her Omni-Tool. Her tech flared to life as her terminal projected her Galaxy map. Everything was a mess. After Bryson was killed she and EDI just gathered what they could never bothering to cross reference their data right off the bat.

Leave Shepard to do it while waiting.

"Sandal?" A new voice called before a new body entered the room, Shepard never noticed as she paced the room.

"Indoctrination, Creature sightings... " she started naming off different topics as small holographic screens were projected as she called them. "Protheans."

"You are the friend my daughter brought to our home yes?" Leandra inquired as she moved further into the room. Her golden eyes focused on the images displayed in the air. It was nothing she had ever seen before; it was overwhelming.

"Is this...is this magic?" She asked.

"Sorry, I thought I was alone with Sandal..." Shepard turned around. "Yes, we've met briefly before. I'm Commander Shepard. And all of this." she gestured at the information around her. "Is technology."

The older woman nodded before turning her attention to Shepard. The redhead had turned her attention back to the map; a deep look of concentration on her face.

"You're troubled," Leandra stated, as she observed the Commander, earning the younger woman's attention. "Something is weighing in you. I have three children, and six that I am a surrogate mother to," she remarked. "I know facial expressions."

Shepard shook her head slightly. "My home is under attack." she admitted rather freely. "I am trying to rally a fleet to take her back but there is only so much one human can do." she raised her hand scrolling through the list of Element Zero locations before forcing the data over to the Galaxy Map.

A chuckle from the older woman as she took a seat next to the armoured woman. "You have that drive," she commented.

"I'm the only one who can do it." Shepard answered as she lowered her arms before turning to the table and picking up a datapad. "Someone else might get it wrong."

"Just like my daughter...to an extent," earning a curious look from the younger woman.

"Sabrina?" Shepard asked. "Really?"

"You both have that drive, that energy that sets you about from others," Leandra explained. "People put you so high on something of a pedestal that you forget about your own personal problems. People believe you to always have the answers, to do the impossible. They forget you're no different than they are...and yet, you are."

"That certainly is one way to put it." Shepard sighed. "Before all of this, it was nothing but personal problems, until I stopped Saren, then it just went from there."

"What did you do before stopping Serin?" Leandra inquired.

Shepard chuckled, for what reasons, Leandra didn't know. "Saren Arterius." Shepard corrected as she raised her Omni-Tool and projecting a hologram of the Rogue SpecTRe. "But before all of that. I grew up on Earth. Lost my father during the First Contact War. My mother spiralled into depression after that, just stop caring, died when I was five..." Her voice died out.

"You had no other family?" The golden eyed woman asked. "And what do you mean by First Contact?"

"None that I knew of, none that wanted to take me in." Shepard explained as she dismissed Saren's hologram. "As for First Contact..." she sighed. "How do I explain this one..."

"Even if I did not personally know my brother's children-not that he has any-but if he did, I would have taken them in," the mother stated. "Did they know about you?"

Shepard shook her head. "I don't know. I ran away from the social worker."

The former Amell gave her a curious look. "A...social worker?" she echoed, having never heard of such a title before.

"It's a profession dedicated to the well being of others." Shepard summarized quickly. "I knew they wanted to put me in an orphanage, I was a kid, back then, I didn't know any better, I ran." Shepard had no idea why she was saying all of this. She hasn't really thought about her childhood that much; she'd talked about it even less.

There was danger in speaking about her past. It was another opening for others to attack her; and yet, she found herself freely and easily giving out the information.

"But I survived." Shepard regathered herself before tossing Reaper Activities onto the map. "I did what I had to do, make sure I couldn't be tracked, and when I became of age, I erased my history and enlisted."

"You've come a long way from a copper less orphan to a Commander," the shorter female pointed out with a smile. "It's something any parent can be proud of."

"Then I hope they are." Shepard sighed.

"But why erase your past?" Leandra inquired curiously. "It made you into who you are today?" she pointed out.

"What I did as a teenager, is something that the Alliance would have arrested me for." she admitted. "I was not a good person."

A chuckle came from the older woman. "There's no such thing as a 'good' or 'bad' person Serah," she said gently. "Nothing is ever so clean cut."

"Then I'm happy to hear that you don't see everything black and white." Shepard responded as she turned back to her work as there was another knock on the door.

"Careful Shepard...least you break under all the weight placed upon you," Leandra warned, placing a hand on her arm. "You look like you haven't slept in days," she added, taking in the tired expression on the younger woman's face.

"Hello," Sandal greeted from the next room.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead." Shepard muttered softly before pulling away and back to her infomation.

She then let out a yelp when she felt herself being thumped in the forehead. The hit didn't hurt but she found herself putting a hand to her forehead; looking at Leandra with a stunned expression.

No one had ever done that to her before.

"You're as hopeless as that wild child of mine," the older woman stated, referring to Sabrina. "Though she isn't quite as stubborn, nor does she say such stupid things...out loud at least.

I'm sure you have people out there that care about you, and would rather you be alive than dead," she pointed out. "And that means taking better care of yourself."

"Okay. Okay..." Shepard answered, brushing her hair back behind her ear slightly. "I'll get some sleep on the next cycle." she answered as Sandal came back into the room.

"People here." he said smiling.

"Good," Leandra stated with a nod, before turning to greet the newcomers. "Hello. You must me more friends of my daughter," taking in the strange clothing they wore.

"Shepard, morso." Liara said as she stepped forward. "I'm Doctor Liara T'Soni."

"EDI. Perfect." Shepard called out her comrade. "I need help sorting out the last of the relevant data here."

"Of course Commander." EDI spoke as Leandra watched what could have only been described as a metal golem cross her room.

"A doc...tour?" Leandra echoed, having never heard the term before.

"Apologies, I had forgotten titles such as my own do not exist here." she admitted. "Liara is just fine."

"You have already narrowed it down to three nebulas." EDI pointed out the progress Shepard had already made.

"We don't have the time or resources to explore all three. If we can find another match." Shepard's hand hovered over the other holograms as EDI ran through the data again."

"Doc here." James leaned on Liara's shoulder. "Is a real smart cookie. Years of study and dedication to get that title."

"It's just a formality." Liara expressed.

He smirked. "Though outside of the Reapers, she's been talking non-stop about this place," he informed the golden eyes female. "She's such a little nerd," giving a chuckle, putting the Asari on the spot.

"Thank you Lieutenant Vega." Liara raised her hand and pulled his hand off her shoulder.

He let out a laugh. "No problem Blueberry," grinning as he spoke the nickname.

"Oh! You are the companion who has blue skin yes?" The former Amell inquired of Liara. "Varric and the others have mentioned you. It's why you show no skin."

"Indeed." Liara answered. "My appearance among Shepard's people is normal, but for your kind who has never interacted with the asari. I would he considered an abomination."

The only present Hawke in the house was thoughtful for a few moments. "You...you do not have to cloak yourself here," she said after a few moments. "While I admit it is a strange thing for someone to have blue skin, you should not have to his the fact among friends. You do enough of that while moving around Kirkwall," she told Liara, reminding the doctor of Sabrina with her words.

There was a pause as Liara looked at Shepard and EDI. EDI had used an Infiltrator's Cloak to move throughout the city. Liara looked back at Leandra.

"There was hesitation in your voice, are you positive?" she asked.

"Do you want to keep the cloak on while indoors?" Came the counter.

"Liara." Shepard spoke as she turned around. "Before she strikes you like a child." Liara smiled softly beneath her mask before reaching up underneath her hood. With a hiss of air being exposed as she pulled off her mask normally issued to N7 Furies and setting it on the table before pulling down her hood.

Leandra had to admit...she was surprised. But, having three children who used to get into all sorts of trouble when they were younger, had taught her how to maintain her composure; though she could not help but stare for a few moments.

"Now...that wasn't so hard was it?" She asked of the asari.

Before Liara could respond, she found herself falling to the ground. She let out a startled cry. Heavy panting filling her ear, before something wet assaulted her face.

Leandra chuckled. "I think he's upset that you did not greet him," she voiced, highly amused.

"Well I..." Liara tried to push the dog off, she never properly learned how to deal with over eager animals. Just like a hostile Varren. She opted to push him away with her Biotics.

Shepard let out a laugh as she watched her lover's plight. Sabris allowed himself to be pushed back but that did not stop him from barking at Liara; sitting in front of her and letting out a huff-chops blowing out from the action.

He almost seemed to glare at her which she found unnerving.

"I think he waiting on an apology Blueberry," Vega taunted, rubbing a tear from his eye.

"He's the one who attacked me!" Liara huffed as she turned on James. "And it's _Doctor_ to you!"

"Aw but that's no fair," the marine complained. "And that wasn't an attack. I think he just wants your attention," referring to the hound, who was edging closer to the floored scientist.

Liara looked at Sabris before slowly extending a hand out to the dog. He nudged at her hand with his head; clear signs that he wanted to be petted. So she started to pet him with her gloved hand. Sabris tail wagged faster from the petting; ever so slowly inches towards her.

"Creature Sightings." EDI declared suddenly as some of the holograms moved around in the room. "We have a match. Alex Garneau is in this nebula." she indicated to the glowing point on the map.

"Well dats some gewd news der at least eh? Commander?" Vega mocked, trying to imitate a stereotyped Canadian accent. Shepard turned on him and gave him the finger. He started to laugh to his heart's content with the response.

"Very witty response Commander," he laughed. "It's so inspiring eh?" came the continued teasing. He would have gone further, before his stomach growled, loudly. "I got the munchies," he admitted sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Leandra let out a sigh. "Does no one in your group take care of themselves Serah?" Posing the question to the Commander, sounding like an exasperated parent. Causing the redhead to

flush slightly.

She had her answer. "I'll go make lunch," the mother stated. "Hopefully my daughter will be back soon; and I do hope she had time to pick up meat while she was out."

"Medieval Times." Shepard commented as she turned back to the map. "EDI. Upload these coordinates to the _Normandy_."

"Done." the AI answered. "Any other inquiries?" she asked Shepard the Commander thought for a moment before sighing.

"Pull up the data we got on the Crucible, we got time." she said as everything changed. Liara standing up.

"I've decoded more data Commander." she said. "I haven't uploaded it to Hackett yet. I wanted you to look over it first."

"Aright. Send it over."

Sabris was set to pounce Liara, muscles tensing to do so. However, he froze instead; ears shifting as he heard the front door coming open. In an instant, he took off like a shot from the room, earning looks from Shepard and her team.

"Whoa Sabris," Sabrina's voice rang throughout the manor. A thud was heard, meaning he'd more or less slammed her against the door. "You're more excited than usual," she noted.

He let out an excited bark, along with several whines.

"Alright, alright. What is it that you want to show me?" she breathed out, giving a laugh as she moved deeper into the house, following her dog.

"Serah Hawke." EDI greeted the native, being the one closest to the entrance.

The rogue gave a curious look as she adjusted the deer carcass on her shoulder. Four rabbit carcasses dangling from her belt. "Um..." She trailed not sure what to say.

Confusion settled onto her face as the voice sounded vaguely familiar. "You probably do not remember me." EDI said settling her arms behind her back. "I am EDI. You would recognize me as the voice of the _SSV Normandy_."

Sabrina searched her memory for a moment. "You were the voice coming through the Oni-Tool right?" She inquired just to be sure.

"I was." EDI answered.

"Is that a real deer on her shoulder?" Vega asked in surprise, leaning over to whisper to the Commander; Shepard just smacked Vega's shoulder.

"Welcome to Canada, eh." she whispered in his ear, grinning.

"Oh. Then it is nice to finally meet you," Sabrina told EDI with a grin. Her attention then turned to the others. "I don't remember you being with Red during her last visit," he pointed out referring to Vega.

"Naw. I'm a new addition." James scratched the back of her head. "Lieutenant James Vega."

She nodded at him before her gaze went to the Commander. "So, seeing you here is completely surprising and unexpected," she began. "Mind filling me in?" Came the question. "We can walk and talk," Hawke added, gesturing to the deer on her shoulder.

"Just a moment." Shepard said as she raised her Omni-Tool and shut down the holograms, darkening the room. "Alright." she turned back to Hawke. "There is quite a bit to discuss." she gestured to the home. "Must have been busy the last fourteen months... eighteen for you, I believe."

"I have," Sabrina agreed. "After you left..."

* * *

Shepard sat at the base of the stairs head hung as Liara sat beside her.

"This needs to end." Shepard muttered. "I can't keep doing this."

"Shepard..." The older woman called, placing a concerned hand on the redhead's shoulder.

Shepard leaned into the touch. "We're fighting Liara, but are we going to win? You said it yourself. You can live to see the end of our cycle."

The grip on her shoulder tightened. "And I can also live to see the beginning of it.

And it starts with the Reapers being defeated once and for all," Liara said with conviction in her voice. Shepard whispered something response but Liara could barely just catch it as Shepard's head fell heavily against her shoulder. Smiling, Liara moved her hand to come rest in her bondmate's hair. "Being here," she began. "It's so easy to forget that there's a war going on.

That millions are losing their lives by the day. That many more will until the Reapers are defeated," the asari said. "Here, despite a lot of things lacking from our world, it's peaceful. Simple."

Liara had never gotten an answer. Shepard had fallen asleep.

"While I wanted her to sleep, the stairs were not what I had in mind," Leandra said, coming out of the kitchen and spotting the pair. "There is a spare bedroom up the stairs and to the left.

You both can take that room," she informed the scientist.

"Thank you." Liara answers. "Ser...Shepard hasn't slept since since Tuchunka." she woke the Commander up leading her up the stairs following the instructions.

"It's rare to see the Commander like so." EDI spoke as she approached Hawke's mother. "The peace here might be what she needs to relax."

The Hawke matriarch gave a nod. "She'll rest whether she wants to or not," she told the golem. "I've dealt with my fair share of children, another won't hurt," chuckling at the end of her sentence.

EDI smiled softly. "The Commander is more important than she believes she is. But she is organic like everyone else." she took a step back before bowing slightly. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"It is no trouble EDI," Leandra assured her. "You all will be family soon enough."

* * *

Garrus hesitated slightly before knocking on the door to the Hawke estate. The Commander and Liara had never returned the night before while James and EDI did. The AI promised they were safe but Garrus still wanted to check on them.

So he had Cortez fly him down as moving quickly throughout the city before it roused for the day he made it to the estate EDI had directed him too.

"Hello," came Sandal's eerie greeting as he opened the door.

"Spirits." Garrus muttered before kneeling down before the boy. "Is Hawke or Shepard here?" he asked slowly in the best English he could muster.

"Yes. Sleeping." The dwarf answered, as his white eyes seemed to shine.

"Sleeping?" Garrus repeated slowly. "I am a friend of theirs. Can I come in?"

He nodded, before stepping aside. If he was bothered by the Turian's appearance he did not show it. "Follow me," Sandal requested before moving deeper into the house.

"Okay." Garrus agreed before turning on his translator so the natives could understand him. "Anyone else home?"

"Madam. Blue lady." He answered, as he led Garrus into the main room. "All sleeping. Wait." Came the instruction before he went off to fetch Hawke.

Garrus took the time to look around. It was a very big home; bigger and studied than the structures he had seen.

At least, for this world.

A growl then came from behind him. He turned and saw a massive dog; lips curled back in a snarl as it eyed Garrus.

Garrus blinked once before looking at the animal. How was it that the Commander treated docile Varren? Slowly he knelt down on a knee and held out a hand.

"I'm a friend." he said.

Sabris approached cautiously. He did not sense any ill intent from the creature-he knew it wasn't human; and, sniffing at the newcomer who had the familiar scent he associated with the Commander and her companions. The war hound gave a lick to his hand to show that he accepted the gesture and recognized this unfamiliar person as no threat. Garrus' mandibles flared slightly in a smile as he moved his three fingered hand slightly to get him to move closer.

Sabris did, allowing the man to rub him. His stubby tail wagging in happiness; petting was always good.

"Some war dog...you are," Sabrina said in between a yawn as she stood at the top of the stairs in her robe. She stretched, causing the material to rise higher up on her thighs. "Garrus wasn't it?" She asked sleepily, as she rubbed at her eye.

"Yea, sorry if I woke you." Garrus stood up. "But..." he moved his shoulders trying to imitate the human gesture. "I was told the Commander is still here."

The rogue nodded as she descended the stairs. "She is, along with Blueberry. My mother ordered that she got some sleep, she passed out on the stairs apparently." giving an amused chuckle as she thought about the Commander being ordered around like a kid. Her mother did seem to have that effect on not only Sabrina, but the rogue's companions as well.

"I've been trying to get the Commander to sleep since we left Earth." Garrus admitted. "It's been a mess."

"So she and Liara explained last night," she informed him. "The lead you're all are following now is the reason that you all are here. Shepard needed, wants, a Mage," came the additional comment as she led him into the adjacent room where they could both sit in chairs.

"Yeah." Garrus said as they sat down. "It's not required, but Liara had been trying to find a connection between this world and ours. Shepard believes this will be the only key we'll find."

"The new guy...Vega was it?" Earning a nod from the Turian. "He mentioned something about Liara writing a book about magic while at dinner last night. Is that true?"

"She's thinking about it." Garrus answered. "The only thing that would stop her is if we find a Prothean somewhere." he chuckled. "Of course all of the Protheans we did find are just frozen corpses on Ilos."

Sabrina chuckled. "He called her a 'nerd'. I am unfamiliar with the term, but he made it sound funny."

"I believe it's a human thing." Garrus answered. "I might have heard it in passing with other humans."

"So what's the plan then?" he asked after a moment of silence. "I heard from EDI that your sister was taken."

The rogue gave a somber nod. "I will be requesting of the First Enchanter to allow my sister leave of the Circle. Of course, the Knight-Commander has to agree on it as well, but that's the only option I see," she told him. "There are no elves where you hail from, so Merrill is out, and Shepard flat out refuses to deal with Anders."

"I heard what happened with Liara." Garrus said mandibles flaring slightly. "I wouldn't go near him with a fifty foot pole."

A light laugh came from the shorter of the two. "He's gotten better," she assured the Turian. "But we all have our challenges...the spirit residing within him just happens to be his."

She then stood and stretched again. "Since I'm up I should probably go put in my request," she told him. "With luck, it's still too early for their minds to fully process the request and they will simply sign off on it.

You are more than welcome to stay Garrus while you're waiting for Shepard and Liara to wake," she told him, offering her home to him. "Besides Sabris and Sandal, mother is also here. But you can chose to read while you wait or anything else. I don't mind if you explore."

"Yeah... okay." Garrus nodded.

* * *

Liara slowly made her way out into the kitchen surprised to see Garrus and Leandra deep in conversation.

"I see you're taking everything well, Matriarch Hawke." Liara said using her people's terms for the elderly, still having not grasped Hawke's terms and 'Mistress' didn't feel correct."

"Just call me Leandra dear," the only Hawke in the house instructed. "You seem to be confused by the term."

"No." Liara shook her head. "Each race has different titles for different stages of life." She answered.

"We do not," gesturing for the blue skinned woman to have a seat. "But I take it your response has to do with our greeting yes?"

"Yes." Liara responded. "Societies are different with each race, it's hard trying to remember all the formalities for each one."

Leandra chuckled. "I can only imagine Serah," she said, earning a curious glance from the Asari.

"Why do you call everyone 'Sarah'?" Liara asked slowly. "It's a rather common human name."

"Not Sarah. Ser-rah," the mother corrected. "It is an honorific used when addressing someone of high social standing. Preferably to women. Ser would the male honorific. The same could be said with the term 'Messare'."

There was a groan as the conversation was cut off a bleary eyed Shepard at the entrance of the room with her uniform nowhere near perfect.

"Nice hairstyle Shepard," Garrus commented. "A vast improvement on how you usually wear it," he teased, mandibles twitching in amusement.

"Please." Shepard responded as she ran her fingers through her hair. "How long was I out?"

"It's nearly dusk," Leandra informed her. "Sabris went in to check on you. Even got in the bed with you. You were practically dead to the world," she informed the younger woman with a chuckle.

"You needed it Shepard." Garrus said. "When was the last time you slept properly?"

It took Shepard a minute before she answered.

"The day before the Reapers attacked."

"That was almost a month ago Shepard." Garrus pointed out. The Commander said nothing, moving to sit with her bondmate; Liara shifting in the chair so they could cuddle together. "You look a lot better though." the Turian added, getting a noise of agreement from Liara. Shepard hummed softly as she leaned against Liara earning a soft smile from Leandra.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Hawke called out into the manor.

"In the kitchen!" Garrus called out.

"Getting cozy are we?" Sabrina inquired in amusement, as she saw the scene and leaned against the doorway. "I tell you I do not like the world of politics," giving a sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"They can all kiss my leathery backside..." Shepard slurred, quoting General Oraka before slumping against Liara almost asleep once again.

"How did it go?" Liara asked.

"Well..." The rogue trailed before casting her eyes into another part of the house.

A new figure stood in the doorway. "Hello mother," Bethany greeted, as she stood dressed in Circle robes.

"Bethany!" Leandra all but cried out as she ran over to her youngest. The Commander suddenly jerking straight up and sober.

The Mage happily embraced her mother; her grip just as tight on the woman, as the hold Leandra had on her.

"H-how?" Liara asked curiously. "From what I understand mages cannot leave the Circle unless Tranquil."

"You are correct Blueberry," Sabrina agreed. "But, I managed to push for a...common ground of sorts.

The First Enchanter agreed to my proposal, no problem. The Knight-Commander however..." Trailing a bit, casting her eyes away. "It took time but she agreed under one condition, that would make her more comfortable in allowing Bethany out of the Circle."

"There is always a catch." Garrus sighed. Shepard shook her head.

"Just once...once. I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say 'Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached." Shepard grumbled.

"So what were the terms?" Garrus asked of Sabrina.

She never got a chance to respond.

"The Mage must be under the supervision of a Templar," Carver spoke before stepping into view. "And handled in case they become a danger to themselves and those around them," His Templar armour shining in the fire light.

"Yeah...a Templar was needed or my request would not have been met," The light skinned woman added. "And I did not have a say in the Templar," She put that information out there.

Shepard was on her feet in an instant, and on Carver before her chair had finished falling backwards. The sheer forced she had struck with him sent him spiraling down into his ass as she stormed up to him pressing her boot against his chest plate.

"I cannot believe you." she spat.

"Maker!" He cried out, comply thrown off kilter by the speed at which everything happened. His shock quickly turning to anger when he realized who was standing above him. "You!" He cried. "I should have known my sister was lying about your whereabouts!"

"She wasn't." Shepard's voice dropped as she knelt down above him. Her hand moving to grip his throat. "I was beyond your stars. None of your fucking people would have been able to find me." she growled. "So. What is this I hear? You turned in your sister for...what was it... personal gain?"

"I don't have to tell my reasons to you," he pointed out...and yet he continued speaking anyway. "But, if you must know I realized why you and my sister were off gallivanting in the Deep Roads that magic is indeed something to be feared. I didn't think it was, growing up around it, but that changed. I've seen what the blood mages do an I realized the plight of the Templars," he told her. "I decided to take a stand and help them to fight off those who carry it within their veins. I wasn't going to spend another moment in my sister's shadow.

So I became my own man."

"Bullshit." Shepard snarled as she slightly tightened her hold. "I know of the threats you made to Hawke the night before we left. My old XO never left anything out of her reports." she shifted her feet slightly. Bending down a little more.

"You handed her over out of revenge against your sister. Didn't you?"

"What's it to you!" He challenged. "My sister needed to realize that things were going to change and that she can't always be the one to change them!"

"What is it to me?" Shepard asked, ignoring the second part of Carver's protest. "Nothing and everything."

"What's going on with the Commander?" Garrus asked softly. "This is...Aria...not Shepard."

"Personal feelings," Liara told him. "I think Carver's actions remind her of her childhood."

Carver snorted, while trying to free himself of her hold. "How I treat my family is none of your concern," he said firmly. "Deal with your own."

Shepard tightened her grip.

"Maybe...maybe I should show you how I used to deal with my comrades who turned in others comrades for personal gain." she leaned in closer. "They never did live long enough to enjoy their riches."

She was all but choking him now.

"Shepard," Liara called taking a step forward.

Carver's hand tightened around her wrist; finding enough strength in himself to at least stop her from adding more pressure. "And I suppose you're a selfless saint?" He countered. "That you haven't done things to get ahead?

Bethany is a mage first, my sister second, which is something my elder sister fails to realize," he added. "That at any moment Bethany could become possessed and would have to be struck down. I doubt she'd have the guts to do it."

"Not at the cost of others." Shepard snarled.

"Shepard!" Liara repeated, but it was unheard.

"I have lead people to their deaths, yes, but it was not to my benefit. You. You are a selfish bastard and you are using your goddamn laws to justify your means. I should just slay you right now, under the terms I used to use before I was military..."

"Shepard!" Came the shout, and it wasn't from Liara this time.

Sabrina had moved. Catching the Commander from behind; snaking her arms underneath the woman's own and pulling back, getting her off and away from Carver, but just barely, the Commander was heavier than she seemed.

"Shepard I know you're upset but you can't kill him," she told the enraged redhead.

Shepard struggled for a moment before going limp in Hawke's arms. Liara came around kneeling before Shepard, placing her hands on the sides of the Commander's face.

"Li..." She whispered as Liara pulled their foreheads together whispering something as their biotics flared slightly. Slowly, Sabrina released her; choosing to sit on the ground. Looking up curiously at the pair.

"What...what just..." The rogue began but was cut off.

"I think all of that." Garrus walked to stand before Bethany and Leandra. "Just put Shepard in a dark place."

Carver pulled pulled himself to his feet growling. "Glad to see you managed to move to help family sister," he spat at his elder sibling. "I am a member of the Knights Templar and deserve respect."

"Funny. I thought it took years of training to become a Templar," she countered. "Ironic how you managed to become one...and all you had to do was present them with a Mage."

"That's just to shut them up." Garrus crossed his arms. "I've seen that happen in C-Sec before. To the kids accepted just as a formality. They don't get far."

"What are Shepard and Liara doing?" Bethany asked, noticing how the couple had gone completely silent and still. Liara's eyes seemed to have gone black; it was such an odd sight.

"They're melding," he told them. When he got curious looks he decided to elaborate further. "It's like...they're bonding. Liara is...reading her mind...like a book," he struggled to explain in laymen terms before giving up. "The asari have the ability to share memories and thoughts with another. Apparently Merrill got an accidental sample down the the Deep Roads. Liara is probably doing this to help clear Shepard's mind."

"You allowed this into your home?!" Carver shouted at Sabrina. "I should call the Order here right now!" He actually made a move to do so, but he was stopped by his sister. She swung on him, catching him in the temple and dropping the younger man.

"I think...it would be best for everyone involved if you didn't Carver," the tattooed rogue said to the unconscious male. "I Guess we wait until they're done." she looked at the two on the floor, but as soon as those words left her mouth Shepard and Liara broke apart with a gasp. The expressions on both of them were apparent. Sullen, it was topics that could not be discussed freely. Shepard was the first to her feet.

"We're leaving." she said as she moved to the table and gathered her equipment she left out overnight.

"He does have to come with us you know," Sabrina pointed out. "If we leave him here, and take Bethany, they'll declare her an apostate and hunt her down. They may return her to the Circle if they don't outright kill her," she pointed out.

Garrus looked between the Commander and Carver. "There's something dark here I'm missing isn't there?" He asked.

"There is." Shepard slung her bag over her shoulder. "Call Cortez, bring him back to the _Normandy_, lock him up." she turned to Leandra and Bethany. "Both of you, pack your things, I don't know how long we're gonna be."

Bethany looked curiously at her mother and sister. " We kept your things," Sabrina assured her. "They're between my room and mother's."

"Come," Leandra said, leading her youngest out if the room to help her pack.

Garrus gave a nod as he pulled up his Omni-Tool. "Well, I'd say things are about to be that much more interesting on the _Normandy_," he commented. "Cortez. We need a pick up outside of Kirkwall where you dropped me off this morning."


	13. Chapter 13

_Stardust A/N:_ Got a lot of heat concerning Shepard's crew in the first arc the last few days, I've responded in turn to assure readers that that dynamic was required, why? Simple. Carver.

_Fun Fact #1:_ At least 75% of this story is written by OffMyLeash and Phoenixian Stardust texting segments back and forth.

* * *

"Cortez. Slow her down." Shepard said as she keyed in a few things into the terminal of the Kodiak. Before leaning out to face the Hawkes. "Look out the window." she smiled at them. "You'll be the only ones of your planet to see this view."

"Maker..." Bethany breathed out, as she turned her gaze to the window.

Sabrina was just left silent. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came from her; all she could do was gape like a fish out of water. Trying desperately to convey her emotions but her efforts fruitless.

Their home, the planet that they lived on, was huge-making even the biggest of High Dragons seem like particles of dust in comparison. Clouds swirling about, vast expanses of oceans, land masses that she hoped to travel to one day, some familiar that she'd seen on maps and others she had never seen before.

"It..it makes me feel...so tiny," she finally managed to say after a long bout of silence, as the three crowded in the window.

"It does." Liara spoke as she stood beside the silent, stunned, Leandra. "This is just a small fraction of what you will experience in our world."

Sabrina grinned. Her eyes-now back to their natural colour - shining. "Varric will be so jealous when we tell him about this," she stated, she shifting her gaze back out if the window.

There were subtle expressions from both Garrus and Liara.

"Varric told me that you need the Fade to survive." Shepard leaned in her seat to look at Bethany. "We're just outside your home planet, do you feel any change? It would be better to check now before leaving the system."

Bethany was silent for a few moments, pondering the question. "I do not...feel any differently," she confessed. "I still feel...well, everything," came the attempted explanation. "And..." trailing as she summoned magic to her fingertips." I still have my magic," a smile coming onto her lips.

"We'll check in again after we leave the system." Shepard said. "Then to be safe, after we hit the Relay. My theory is that we do still have the Fade, but it lacks the demons yours has."

"I am still curious, about your Fade," Liara voiced. "I've heard things but I am still attempting to figure out why it hold such an important place in your society."

"It's the realm of the dreams, the dead, and the demons," Sabrina spoke up, tearing her eyes away from the window. "A realm that everyone enters when they dream, minus the dwarves of course," giving a light chuckle there. "However, mages are connected to it even when they are awake."

The youngest Hawke gave a nod of agreement. "I am connected to it," she added. "It's as apart of me as your skin is blue. You did not ask to have blue skin, to be born an..." she trailed, unable to remember what Liara had described herself as upon her arrival.

"Asari," the scientist supplied for her.

A grateful smile coming onto the mage's lips. "Yes, an asari. Those things, among others, make you who you are.

But, what do you think would happen if those things were taken away from you?" she posed the question to the alien.

Liara thought about it for a moment. "Then I would have never been born asari." she answered. "My race is something that cannot be taken away from me."

"And what about your...bio-ticks was it?" Bethany countered. "Can that be taken away from you?"

"Biotics." Liara corrected. "No, they cannot be taken away from us, unless you're paralyzed from the neck down I guess." she looked at Garrus who shrugged.

"But by that point, you're usually dead." the Turian responded.

"Biotics require the electrical impulses from one's nervous system and the element zero nodes in a biotics' body. It's not like your magic." Liara explained quickly.

Bethany let out a chuckle. "Wish I could say the same," she responded, looking at the flame that she had summoned in her hand. "For mages...our magic can be taken away from us at any moment. If we are deemed too dangerous or cannot undergo the Harrowing then by default we are made Tranquil. Our connection to the Fade is broken," came the explanation. "And we lose everything that makes us who we are. All our energy...all our life...is drained from us. It's like we're turned into nothing more than empty vessels...like we're nothing more than..."

"Husks."

Garrus had supplied the word as Liara turned her hand slightly, creating her own biotic fire, her energy flowing down the length of her entire forearm, it was easy to see the differences between their energies, Liara's was brighter but Bethany's was much more fire-like and contained to her palm.

Leandra reached out to touch her youngest. "That won't happen to you Bethany," she stated. "You're a strong girl, and know how to use your magic properly. The templars should have nothing to fear from you."

"But they do mother," the mage of the family countered. "They watch us like we're prey, not all but enough for us to realize that we're always under their gaze. As if at any moment someone can turn into an Abomination," shifting the flame between her hands, tossing it back and forth like a toy.

"I can understand that some mages are dangerous...they're abusing their powers and do things to hurt people, but even for them I think being made Tranquil is too much of a punishment," she voiced.

Sabrina leaned over, resting her head on the younger girl's shoulder. Her own hand coming out to tease the flame-no harm coming to her from her action. "Their way of thinking is stupid," she stated, earning a chuckle from Bethany that had the mage's body shake. "A mage is no more dangerous than a person with a sword, or dagger, or Goldie Locks there," snickering as she pointed at the Commander. "To say that a person is less dangerous simply because they aren't a mage is so...arrogant.

We are all capable of bad deeds. You don't to be a mage to commit them."

"Saren." Garrus grumbled. "The fine example of a madman who isn't a mage. I think the Illusive Man sits up there too."

"Don't remind me." Shepard grumbled before tapping a few things at the console before her Co-Pilot Seat. "Take a look out the window now." she told all of them. "The _SSV Normandy SR-2_ in her natural element."

They did as she suggested and all their jaws practically hit the floor. Shepard's _Normandy_ seeming hanging in the void of space as if it were a star itself. It was the most beautiful sight any of them had ever seen.

Sabrina began speaking in the elven language before her sister started to do the same thing. Shepard and her crew had no idea what they were saying, but they sounded excited at least. The rogue turning her attention to the Commander before firing off a question at the redhead.

Unfortunately, the tattooed female did not realize that she had asked her question in the elven tongue.

Shepard leaned over the side of her seat, looking confused as both Garrus and Liara tapped the side of their heads, something they picked up from the humans when they didn't understand something.

The gesture was lost on the Ferelden.

"English." Shepard said as she turned back their console.

It took a few moments for it to dawn on the rogue. "Oh!" she said in the common tongue, looking rather sheepish. "Sorry. I was asking how...do does the Normandy, and this smaller star metal ship fly? It's just hanging in the sky like a star."

"There is a lot of tech talk that goes with this." Cortez answered for them. "I can spend all day explaining different engines, drive cores and whatnot, things you'll probably never understand in this instance. Mass Effect, is probably the easiest answer."

Sabrina imitated the gesture the others had used on her, pointing at her ear. Earning a chuckle from the others. "Also, you asked me to speak English," sea green eyes shifting toward the Commander. "What is that?"

There was a collective sigh from Shepard's crew.

* * *

"Just toss him in there." Shepard muttered as Garrus and James hauled Carver off the Kodiak. "Strip him of his armour and weapons while you're at it."

"Understood." James answered as they disappeared towards the back of the ship. Slowly she turned around to face the Hawkes who were slowly getting off the Kodiak.

"And...this entire thing is made of star metal?" Sabrina asked as she glanced around the hanger. "Isabela will be so jealous. If she had this ship she'd be the most infamous captain in all the world!" She breathed out.

"Those stories your friend has been telling." Leandra said slowly. "Her companions I can understand but everything else..." she slowly turned in a circle. "I am finding this hard to believe."

Cortez smiled as Shepard shook her head slightly, this was to be expected.

"It can be overwhelming," Cortez informed her. "I felt the same way when I was a kid. Seeing a ship for the first time, and then actually setting foot inside one," he added. It had been a long time since he thought about that.

Things hardly had the same mystical value they once did. But seeing how the Hawkes were looking about curiously, like children, brought a smile to his face; moments like this were rare with the Reapers knocking on their door.

"Oh! Shepard that reminds me," Sabrina said, suddenly remembering as she dug into her pocket. "Sandal gave this to me before we left," presenting the ring and dog tags to the marine.

"He upgraded it. Added more enchantments and a rune or two I think," She told the older woman.

"Okay. I nearly forgot." Shepard said as she caught her tags. "I need to tend to a few things." she pointed over her shoulder. "Cortez, Garrus, find them a place to stay."

"I need to check on Glyph." Liara sighed as she took off her knee length jacket and hung it up in her locker before pulling out her normal jacket. "Hopefully my network didn't crash and burn while I was away."

"If the Hawkes would follow us please," Garrus signaled to them leading them to the elevator. "Hopefully your new living quarters will be up to your standards after living in a manor," a smirk on his face. A clear sign of him teasing.

A chuckle came from the tattooed rogue. "Before the manor Garrus, we lived in a two bedroom house with my uncle Gamlen. Three of us to a room.

And before that our home in Lothering," she informed him, as they stepped onto the elevator. Eyes inspecting the inside of it as she spoke. "I have yet to be spoiled by living the high life," giving a chuckle.

He laughed as well before pressing the button for Crew Deck. Chuckling in amusement as the family of three yelped when the elevator began moving.

* * *

"Commander." Traynor called out when Shepard crossed the deck. "I found something while scanning Alliance Channels; Grissom Academy is requesting help, the Reaper front will hit them soon."

That information made Shepard pause for a moment, it would be another thing added to their list, and an active school would take priority over Alex Garneau, but she just couldn't keep pushing him back, eventually it will just be too late.

But to sacrifice one life to save many at a time like this, she would do it in a heartbeat.

"What can we do?" she asked

"A Turian Evac Transport responded to their distress call." Samantha answered. "So normally I'd say we don't need to do anything."

"But..." Shepard crossed her arms as Traynor turned back to her terminal

"Something sounded off in the Turian Signal, so I had EDI perform an analysis. It's fake." she look at the Commander standing beside her. "EDI thinks it's Cerberus, she said that the fake Turian Signal was similar to one that lured you to...a... Collector Ship?"

"That's a very long story." Shepard answered.

"In any event, whoever faked this signal wants us to think that Grissom Academy is being evacuated, but I believe they are still in danger." she said, Shepard smiled softly.

"Good catch, no wonder EDI speaks so fondly of you." she praised, Samantha flushed slightly. "We'll re-route the Normandy to Grissom Academy, we won't sit on this."

"Thank you Commander."

"Actually, can you do me a favour?" she asked Traynor. "Can you just tell the Hawkes there is a slight change in the itinerary? I need to contact Hackett."

"Of course Commander." they moved to go in their opposite directions, Shepard stopping and looking behind her while Samantha waited for the elevator.

"One more thing, Traynor. I need you to check up on Bethany, make sure she's still okay since we've left their system. Then invite them up to the bridge, I think they'll want to see the Mass Relay." she added before walking away. By the time Traynor realized the oddity of the request, the Commander was already gone.

* * *

"By the Maker," Leandra breathed out as she took a seat in the bed. "This is...this is all so much.

I thought only magic would be enough to take my breath away," came the statement. "And yet, here we are sailing, no flying like birds and dragons, among the stars." Golden eyes looking out the window.

"I knew Shepard was different. Hell, I saw her _Normandy_ fly in the sky." Sabrina began as she sat atop a desk. "And even though she has weapons and armour and things that are so different from our own...it's really just hitting me full force how truly different her way of living is from our own. It's awe inspiring really."

"So, do you think that they are right?" Bethany asked having taken a seat on a chair by the desk. "When they claimed that our magic doesn't exist for them; it's because their style of life is so unlike our own?"

"Maybe," Sabrina said, as she played with a lock of her hair. "I mean...she did come back because they needed a Mage. It proves they don't have them at least. But Shepard also mentioned something about feeling a presence similar to being in the Deep Roads," she pointed out. "So it's hard to really say."

"She and Liara kept mentioning cycles when they talked." Leandra pointed out. "What you suppose that meant?"

"Day and night? Seasons? Their culture?" The sea green eyes female listed off. "No idea really. I'm just glad she came back," moving over to her sister. "We got you out of the Circle...even if its only temporary."

Bethany nodded in agreement as she leaned against her sisters leg. The content silence broken by a knock and the door sliding open, a tanned dark haired woman there.

"Sorry to interrupt." she started in an accent familiar to Hawke. "I am Communications Specialist Samantha Traynor." Traynor introduced herself. "Commander Shepard wanted me to let you know that there has been a slight change of plans."

Bethany gasped quietly; too silent for the Specialist to hear. Her mother and sister did, but chose to remain silent.

"Will we be returning Carver so soon?" Sabrina said with her usual charm, giving a laugh. "Don't keep us in suspense."

"No. According to EDI he's still unconscious." Traynor shook her head. "There has been a distress call from Grissom Academy. We're detouring to aid them before arriving at the Citadel."

"That's fine by us," Sabrina assured her. "This is her ship after all...until I tell Isabela about this and she attempts to steal it.

I wonder what she'll rename it," the rogue mused, rubbing at her sister's head in thought.

Samantha bit her lower lip slightly, she knew these people were different, Shepard had warned the entire crew, but it was like the Commander had just gone and pulled them out of a historical film. "Also, the Commander requested that I checked in on Bethany on her behalf, something about leaving your home system. She wasn't clear."

The mage let out a squeak, hiding her face in her sister's thigh. Earning an amused laugh from the older girl."You'll have to excuse Bethany. She can be a bit...shy at times," Sabrina explained to the dark skinned woman. "And she was probably referring to the Fade."

The Comm Specialist looked confused. "Fade?" she echoed.

Sabrina shifted her leg, earning her sister's gaze. Golden eyes met green as she communicated to the younger through her look; the mage let out a huff before turning to look at Samantha.

"It...it's what makes me a mage," Bethany explained. "You all have never spoken of having one. It...It's like a dreamscape," struggling to explain the details. "Simply put, if I'm not connected to the Fade then I become what Garrus refers to as a 'husk'."

"That's... unusual." Traynor admitted. "But it is not my place to question, there is one last thing the Commander asked me to tell you." she placed her arms behind her in a military rest. "We will be hitting the Mass Relay in about an hour, she figured you'd want to be up on the bridge to see it."

The family of three nodded to show that they would keep that in mind. Samantha began to walk away before stopping; as if suddenly remembering.

"Also...joining Shepard's ground team is optional. She just wanted to let you know that offer was there." she bowed her head slightly and shuffled back out of the room. The door closing behind her and a squeak from the Specialist as she banged into the opposite wall.

_Leandra, _EDI's hologram appeared in the corner of the room. _I would wish to inform you that Doctor Karin Chakwas and Chief Engineer Gregory Adams are of a similar age group. They can be found in the Medical Bay and Engineering Deck respectively._

Sabrina tried to stifle a laugh; earning a look from her mother as well as a thump to her ear.

"Oh hush you. I may be on in years but I can still take you over my knee," the mother warned, no weight behind her words at all. Her attention then turned her attention to the glowing blue flame. "Thank you EDI. Can you direct me to them?" Came the request as she stood.

_"Of course."_ EDI answered. _"Allow me a moment to send my platform to you." _the hologram winked out.

"Now that. Was weird." Bethany said. Pointing to where the hologram once was "A golem and a ship at the same time."

"Will the wonders never cease," Sabrina inquired while rubbing at her ear. Her attention then turned to her sister. "So...what was that earlier Sister?" She asked with a smirk, nuzzling the younger woman.

"What was what?" Bethany asked slyly as the doors opened again. EDI's golem, platform, standing there. Accepting the affection that her sibling was bestowing upon her, finding herself catching a purr in her throat.

"The Commander wishes to let you know that if you wish to join her, to see Lieutenant Vega down in the armoury. You will need to be properly outfitted." EDI said before looking at Leandra. "Doctor Chakwas is on this floor."

Leandra nodded and followed EDI. "Don't tease your sister too much dear," she called over her shoulder as she left. She didn't even have to add names-the sisters knew who was being addressed; Sabrina only grinned like an imp.

The two sisters rose and headed for the elevator; EDI taking control of it and sending them where they needed to be.

"You know what I mean sister," Sabrina smirked, taking hold of the younger woman's wrist, leading Bethany to a corner in the Shuttle Bay and turning the mage around, and leading her backwards towards a crate.

A slight rumble coming from the older sibling. "I know that sound," she teased, nuzzling against the younger girl, having infinitely missed moments like this. "If I recall correctly I made the same sound around the time we met Shepard and her companions.

Though I was at least able to look at Miranda," she added teasingly. "Which reminds me...I haven't seen nearly the same number of familiar faces. I'll have to ask Goldie Locks why that is," came the sudden muse.

Her gaze then went back to her sister, who was trapped between her body and a crate. "Later of course," a smirk coming onto her lips as her eyes shined playfully.

"Can we not." Bethany muttered softly, a light flush colouring her cheeks. "Discuss this, least of all here where it seems someone is always watching us?"

This time a purr from the older girl. "They watched in the Circle too," Sabrina pointed out, bringing her head down to lean against the shorter woman's. "At least here we are among friends and they aren't looking at you like you're some sort of dangerous animal.

Though given our lineage..." She trailed giving a light laugh. "I've missed you," came the confession as she placed a kiss to the mage's forehead. "Visiting you in the Circle...it's not the same as this." Hands coming to wrap around the younger girl's waist.

"Am I interrupting?" Cortez cleared his throat suddenly before pointing at the crate they were leaning against. "You're sitting on my tools."

"No," she answered. Sabrina smirked turning back to face her sister. "We _will _finish this later," placing a quick kiss on the mages lips, before releasing Bethany.

Though they still both remained close. Cortez didn't say anything before he started to shoo them laughed and moved further into the area, searching for Vega.

"Lola said you'd be coming." James called out from is little homemade office. Doing a round of pull ups. "Figured you'd want to join her when we go and kick Cerberus out of school."

The sisters watched him for a few moments. "You're coming too?" The rogue inquired.

He shook his head. "Nah. Garrus and EDI will be with the Commander on this one," he informed them. "Don't get me wrong, it'd be nice to take down some Cerberus dogs but that's who she wants with her this time. Luckily Cerberus operatives are in no short supply," he said in between pull ups. " We usually go in three man teams."

"So...if we go with her, that will make five," the rogue pointed out.

"She's not expecting you two to fight front lines." James jumped off the bar, shaking out his muscles, and turned to them. "More or less to shadow 'em as they move, get an idea on how things work."

Sabrina nodded to show she understood. "We're supposed to be getting armour from you," she said, though it was really more of a question.

"Kinetic barriers, basic weapons." James answered as he looked at the two. "Our armour is probably too heavy for you." Flexing his muscles in the process. Sabrina gave him a shove; more playful than anything, he didn't move.

"I'm a rogue, we focus more so on speed than strength," she told him. "Though I'm working on building mine up. Never know when I'll run into someone of your stature," giving a chuckle as she spoke.

Vega smirked, before inspecting them...clearly taking in their dress of course. "But wearing what you're not used to will make you a hindrance on the battlefield." Bethany pointed out. "We can't babysit you."

Cortez started laughing from the other side of the hangar. "That also means the dress has to go Bethany. There is a lot of running with the Commander."

"It's not a dress," the mage hissed in offence. "They're robes," patting at her outfit. "And I've done my fair share of running in my life."

The older Hawke chuckled. Patting as her sister's shoulder. "There there Bethany," she said, an amused smile on her lips. "What do you suggest then Vega?"

"Talk to EDI or Doctor Chakwas, we might have some spare uniforms lying around somewhere. Sadly all our armour is custom made. Shepard might have spare pieces lying around but you'll have to ask her, those N7 pieces aren't cheap." James shrugged his shoulders. "But as long as you stick to cover, don't get shot at, the barriers should be enough if you're with Garrus and Shepard."

"Aww...so we really won't be getting the big strong soldier tagging along with us?" Sabrina pouted, while touching his chest. It was very solid. "That's a disappointing thought, I bet you'd be a very handy companion in a fight," purring as she spoke.

"You've been spending time with Isabela haven't you?" Bethany asked, though it was more of a statement.

"I'm just going to do my job. It's up to you two not to get your heads blown off by a sniper." James chuckled before moving away from his desk. "We're going to be at the Academy in about an hour and a half, so it gives me time to show you how it all works, but not enough to make you an expert."

"Better get to work then soldier," the rogue teased with a salute.

* * *

"Ah...and there's our favourite red lyrium hating Shepard," Sabrina commented, when she spotted the Commander come onto the bridge.

"If any element tried to kill you without trying, you'd hate it too." Shepard crossed her arms, that's when they noticed Shepard was already suited up for combat.

"Ninety seconds out from the relay." Joker said as he worked at his console, Leandra watching him curiously, unable to comprehend what he was doing to make this ship move, it was very different than to their ships back home. "Port side, the board is green." he stated as Shepard waved her hand once, for the Hawkes to look out their left side window.

They did and once again they were left speechless. The relay, as Joker had called it, was massive-making the Normandy look small in comparison. Just like when they first saw the Normandy, it just simply hovered in space.

The only difference was that it had an intense blue light pouring from the centre of it, with devices rotating around it.

Bethany found herself losing her footing, but her sister was there to steady her. Concerned sea green eyes focusing upon her, with silent inquiry. "I am fine just...it's so much energy," she remarked, as her hands began to glow not of her own vocation.

Further testament to her words.

"It reminds me of the Fade," Leandra said, as she felt that familiar energy was over her. Not only having dreamed but having married a mage, and having a daughter who was one, she had grown quite accustomed to the energy that seemed to fill the relay.

"That entire core is made of Element Zero." Shepard pointed out. "The Relays allow us to travel thousands of light years in just mere seconds, it's what networks our society together."

"Hitting the relay in three... two... one." Joker said as they moved closer, the eezo jumping from the Mass Relay to contact the Normandy, then the world flashed around them and instantly, the relay, maybe another relay, was on the left side of the ship. "Twenty Five minutes out from Grissom."

"Whoa...okay..." Sabrina said, shaking her head trying to get how the whole, well not world, but ship, lit up like the world in a lightning storm just for a brief moment. She took a seat right in the centre of the floor, rubbing at her eyes. "So...um, Red...these companions you travel with. I only remember less than a handful of them.

What happened to the others we met?" came the question.

"The others?" Shepard looked down at Hawke, confused.

The seated woman looked up at her. "Like...I don't know...Miranda?" she asked, while inspecting her name as if she had merely thrown out a random name. "Haven't ran into her on this ship. Or that old guy in the, I think it was yellow armour. Or your rogue, Kasumi. You know, those people," came the clarification.

"Hawke, much has changed for me as it has for you in the last year." Shepard said. "That team was disbanded seven months ago when I handed the Normandy back over to the Alliance and was incarcerated."

"Arrested." EDI clarified.

"I spent six months detained and the Normandy was, transformed, if you will, from a Cerberus Vessel to an Alliance one. Everyone has moved on."

Bethany looked confused. "But...I thought you helped to try and stop your blight?" she asked. "Why would they put you in jail for that?"

"I went rogue to stop the Collectors." Shepard admitted. "I killed over three hundred thousand people to delay the Reapers. If I was anyone else but me, I would have been court-martialed and left to rot in the brig."

"Commander Shepard still did the right thing." Joker said. "The Alpha Relay needed to be destroyed, we needed that extra time."

"Ah the joys of being on display for all to see," the rogue commented sarcastically, giving a shake of her head. "This just reminds me why I never really care much about the execution. I really just care about it getting done," she stated, before leaning back to rest on her elbows. "If that many people had to be sacrificed to stop the blight, the rulers of the land would do so without hesitation."

Leandra gave a nod. "Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing," she stated. "Sometimes the prize is not worth the cost. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself."

"That is why we are going to win this war, stop those damned Reapers once and for all." she looked at the two younger Hawkes. "We'll be at Grissom Academy shortly, if you're coming with me, better head down to the shuttle bay, James and Garrus can get you set up proper." she turned to stand behind Joker's chair. "I know James has already showed you the basics, but Garrus will need to calibrate the barriers for you."

The sisters both nodded, while Sabrina pulled herself up from the floor. They started for the elevator, but Hawke paused. "So...does that mean you haven't heard from Miranda?" she asked curiously over her shoulder.

"I have not." Shepard answered, never looking away from the consoles. The answer was accepted and the rogue continued on her way.

* * *

"And there's the folks who answered the distress call. Cerberus cruiser. At least a dozen fighters on blockade duty." Joker spoke as Shepard stood behind Joker's seat with crossed arms. The two Hawke's back behind her listening in. "Too many for a straight up fight. They must want this place bad." he added as Shepard made a gesture for the two Hawkes to look out the window.

"Maker..." Bethany breathed out as she saw the numerous star metal ships. "Just how many are there?" She wondered aloud.

"And these aren't your Reapers?" Sabrina asked, getting a nod from the Commander. "Heh, apparently people feel a blight is the perfect time to start fighting each other and not the more threatening enemy."

"Cerberus are a human activist group. Terrorists really." Shepard said. "They are seeking means to control the Reapers. I want to destroy them."

"Receiving Incoming Transmission." EDI spoke.

"Open the line." Shepard said as Joker typed in a few things. Opening another screen.

_SSV Normandy, this is Kahlee Sanders, director of Grissom Academy. We need immediate assistance. Cerberus is attacking the facility. They're after the students!_

"This is Commander Shepard." she leaned in to lean on Joker's chair. "We're blocked on a direct approach."

_I know. They've taken control of our docking bays._

"Alternatives?"

_There is an auxiliary cargo port I can probably open._

"Alright. We'll come in by shuttle and get your students out of there." Shepard said. "Joker, can you give me a diversion?"

"Of course I can commander," he stated before turning to the Hawkes. "You get to see me put this baby through her paces."

"To the Kodiak." Shepard said quickly. "We're going to have a small window to get through after Joker chases them off."

* * *

"That's right you Cerberus dogs," Joker's voice could be heard in the Kodiak. "See if you can keep up with me!"

"Joker seems to be having fun," Cortez stated as he shot them towards the cargo port, rapidly typing in the console.

"You don't work a day of your life if you enjoy what you do." Shepard commented as she looked at the others, pointing at the Hawkes. "I want you behind us at all times. The armour and weapons used here are not what you are used to."

They nodded to show that they understood.

"Bringing us in," Cortez announced, as he carefully maneuvered the shuttle to the cargo bag. Once inside, carefully lowering it onto the ground. "Thanks for flying Air Kodiak," he quipped as the group unstrapped themselves.

"Not exactly what I had in mind," Garrus commented while they stood up. Shepard grabbed her weapons.

"Slow and quiet. I still want the element of surprise on our end." she said as she opened the doors.

Sabrina groaned as she got out of her harness; helping her sister out as well. "I think my breakfast is trying to come back up after that," she commented as she stepped off the shuttle.

"You'll get used to it," the Turian said, placing a three taloned hand on her shoulder. "Stick with us long enough and you won't even notice it."

"So how far behind you should we be?" Bethany inquired if the Commander.

"Still in range." Shepard pointed out. "If you're good enough to sneak around and slit throats and not get caught. Then I'm fine with it. Just don't get shot." She said before nodding at EDI and Garrus. The two of them slowly moving down the hallway and checking empty rooms one at a time. "Things are different here, adapting to my way is going to be a lot harder than what I did on your planet."

"Hey, challenges seem to come with the last name 'Hawke'," Sabrina pointed out with a grin. "I think we'll be able to manage though. If not, well I do know how to run away," she added with a chuckle as she and her sister followed behind the group at a distance.

Up ahead EDI and Garrus were standing on either sides of a door as Shepard worked the lock. There wasn't much of a warning as the doors opened and all three of them started firing their weapons, the entire ordeal only lasted a couple seconds. Shepard looked behind her.

"What are you two doing?!" she snapped. The two were just standing in the middle of the hallway. "Stick to cover!" she snapped. "You're just targets!"

That seemed to jump start their brains. "R-right!" The agreed in unison, moving out of the line of fire.

"Shepard." EDI called out nodding at a door that was partly open. Shepard moved over to it. Looking around slightly. "Sanders!" Shepard shouted. "We're clear! It's me!"

The doors opened to let the group in. Inside was a sandy blonde woman holding a shotgun. Slowly she lowered it. "Commander, thank you. Admiral Anderson said you were the best; and with Cerberus coming after my students. I need the best."

"How many of you are there?" Shepard asked as Sanders moved to her terminal.

"Fewer than twenty, most were sent home when word of the Reaper Invasion spread." she answered as Shepard signalled Garrus and EDI to cover the hallway. "But a few volunteered to stay. Some are prototyping tech for the Alliance. Others are biotics, they've been training for military operations, working together as a biotic artillery."

_This is Froeberg! There are students trapped in Orion Hall! Cerberus has us boxed in. They're closing fast!_

"Damn it!" Sanders smacked her desk. Shepard checked her Mattock quickly.

"Orion Hall?"

"Back out the door and down the hallway. I can get the door open." she said as Shepard turned and started to push the Hawke's out. "I'll bring them back here and we can make a run for the shuttle." she said Sanders nodded.

"Thank you Commander. I'll stay here. With luck I can regain control of our systems."

"Alright." Shepard said as she left the room. "You guys ready?" she looked at the two Hawkes. "We might get this one easy, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."

The two siblings were busy prodding a fallen body. Very intrigued by the amour the formerly living Cerberus agent had on, and the weapon not far off from the body.

"I suppose so," the mage answered, turning to look at the Commander. "Not that we really have much of a choice. I honestly don't see how anyone could move around in such heavy armour. I would expect it to slow you down," she voiced, which her sister still remained, inspecting the bullet ridden armour. Sabrina was more interested in the weaved sections between the plates; that allowed the wearer flexibility as well as the armour to breath so the body wouldn't overheat.

"A lot of training, and... well, our armour isn't made of steel, if that's what you're wondering." Shepard answered. "Come on." she nodded at the door, it opened to let the Commander through, EDI and Garrus slowly following behind her with their weapons raised as the Hawkes followed after them. At the base of the stairs Shepard had stopped and raised her hand, balled in a fist, the entire team didn't move.

"What's going on?" Garrus asked softly as they looked through the window ahead, two troopers dragging off a struggling student followed by an engineer. Once they had left through the doors, Shepard spoke.

"We already know they're after the students." she said. "We better hurry up if we want to save them all." she moved right towards the next door, still slow in their pace, as the door opened.

"Shepard." EDI pointed ahead a student was protecting himself with a barrier as two troopers stood behind him, antagonizing him. Shepard switched out her Mattock for her Valiant as Garrus raised his Mantis.

"Ready." Garrus said in a low tone, so not to be heard by the troopers, Shepard looked down her own scope.

"Mark." she responded, both of them fired and the soldiers fell, with that Shepard gave them the signal to move ahead to the boy.

"What's your name kid?" Garrus asked as he stood before the barrier. Shepard and EDI checking a little around them to make sure no soldiers were lurking nearby; the Hawke sisters standing behind the Turian, trying to get accustomed to what they were seeing.

It wasn't that they were unfamiliar with Shepard and her companions using their weapons-they had witnessed them in use on an occasion or two. But, using a rifle on an Ogre, was infinitely different on using it on someone who also had a rifle; things got messy quickly from what they observed.

"Bellarmine. Reiley Bellarmine," he told the former C-Sec officer.

He received a nod from the sniper. "You can drop the barrier now Reiley," Garrus said, the first one to approach the student. "We aren't Cerberus and we aren't here to hurt you," he informed the human.

Reiley seemed to weigh his options before deciding to drop his barrier.

"There may be more enemies nearby," EDI said from her position off to the side. "Might I suggest him playing dead? He has a higher probability of doing so until it is safe, and then he could make his way to Director Sanders in security," the AI offered up.

"That's exactly what I want you to do." Shepard said as she stepped forward placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to be tearing a path through Cerberus, but once you feel it's clear, I want to you to go to Kahlee Sanders in Security."

"Okay, but my sister Seanna is out there somewhere too." Reiley said as he went down on his knees.

"I'll find her." Shepard assured him. "I'm going to get you all out of here." he nodded as Shepard took as step back before gripping her weapon again. She took lead, jumping through a window into a classroom, checking the datapads as she went, lingering at one at the teacher's desk a little longer than she shook before moving onwards to the next room, at the front the two sets of doors were open and there was a shield pylon set up along with a movable barrier.

"I detect hostiles ahead." EDI said to Shepard as the Commander crouched behind a desk, leaning against it as she activated her Tech Armour. "Bethany, Sabrina, take cover behind the two desks in the back of the room. We don't know how many there are, quickly now." she ordered as Garrus took cover as well. Just as a smoke grenade was thrown into the room.

The sound of gunfire rang out not long after it. Before the clanking of cans could be heard hitting the floor.

"Grenade!" Garrus shouted as he moved to get away from the explosive. Shepard moved, kicking the explosive back towards Cerberus but it detonated before it could get into range, exploding in midair before she started to lay down the fire, her Mattock singing it's tune while EDI peppered them with her N7 Hurricane. Smoke was blocking their view as Shepard broke cover and started to skirt around the room raising her left arm out with her Omni-Tool as two Centurions exploded with electricity.

"Shepard I can't make the shot." Garrus shouted over the gunfire as EDI fired up her decoy to try to draw out a few more troopers. Shepard made her way into the smoke firing her weapon until her shields collapsed, she reacted by detonating her Tech Armour, the explosion clearing the smoke and taking out the rest.

"Well, that could have gone better." Shepard quipped.

The Hawke sisters approached once the fighting was done. "You're fighting differently there Goldie Locks," Sabrina pointed out, as she kicked a fallen soldier with her foot. This one looked bigger than the others. "Less glowing blue and more charging in like an Ogre," smirking a bit at her quip.

"Different battle styles with different crew members." Garrus said as he approached them. "That versatility is what Sentinels are known for."

"Biotics are useful, but I really only like them for detonations." Shepard explained. "So when I'm with people like EDI and Garrus, it's more stun and snipe or bulldoze right through." she reloaded her weapon. "We need to keep moving." she picked up a Talon and a Mattock off the dead troopers and tossed them at the siblings. "These are more powerful than what you got, if you want to help us, feel more than welcome, but be careful."

The pair caught the weapons mid-air. Bethany ended up with the Mattock, and Sabrina with the Talon; they looked at each other before swapping out without a word.

"Now things are about to get fun!" Sabrina commented with a grin as she inspected the weapon. It wasn't the one James had trained her on, but the basics were still the same, and she remembered the quick lesson. Bethany shook her head. "What? You know I like participating more than watching from the sidelines," she defended her enthusiasm.

"Should we search around for Bellarmine's sister?" EDI inquired, holstering her weapon and looking at the Commander.

Shepard did the same, putting her weapon away as well. "Yeah, spread out and see if we can find her," she ordered.

"Shepard!" Hawke called for the redhead. "I found her!" she called from the next room, gaining the rest of the party's attention.

"Spirits, she's bleeding!" Garrus proclaimed as Shepard knelt down before the student, she skirted away from the Commander and Hawke as the redhead shook her head. "Seanne, it's okay."

"How... how do you know my name?" Seannas asked, Shepard smiled.

"I saved your brother, he asked me to find you." she tilted her head slightly to look at the gunshot wound she was trying to cover with her hand. "Here, let me see." Shepard's voice was soft, softer than Hawke had ever heard before as she watched the soldier reach out to gently grip Seanne's wrist. The hand was pulled back to show the wound, Shepard frowned softly, she didn't have enough Medi-Gel to spare.

"Bethany." she looked at the younger Hawke, "Can you patch her up for me?" she asked.

The mage nodded as she lowered herself down. She inspected the injury, which wasn't that bad; holding her hand out over the wound, she summoned her creative magicks, and began to heal the injury.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Seanne screeched, as she felt the skin knitting together, quickly jerking away from the golden eyed female. "What? How?!" she struggled to settle on a question to ask.

Bethany knew when to stand back, the fear in the girl's eyes telling her what she needed to know. "It's alright," she attempted to assure the younger woman. "I just healed your injury is all."

"Bethany here is with me." Shepard said. "She's prototyping some new equipment for me." she lied, but Seanne bought it, amazingly, as poor as the lie was. "Your brother has gone to Kahlee Sanders in security. I want you to go there when you can." Seanne nodded.

"I will, once I've calmed my nerves a little." she said, Shepard nodded before standing back up.

"We need to keep moving." Garrus said. "We can't risk Cerberus taking any more students."

"Yeah." Shepard sighed as she looked down the hallway.

"_Commander Shepard."_ Kahlee's voice came in over the comms. "_I just got an emergency message from my students down in Orion Hall. One of our instructors is there with them, but they can't hold out much longer."_

"Understood. We're almost there." Shepard answered back before lowering her hand. Turning to the Hawkes. "Judging by Seanne's reaction, a guess you can tell, magic is not natural here."

"Noted. Though even in our world it's not considered natural either," Bethany responded as she and the others followed after them.

"Well, at least we can count our blessings that she wasn't attempting to kill you," Sabrina said with her usual charm.

"I think it's pretty damned natural." Shepard laughed. "You were born with the ability, that's as natural as you can get, unlike me. Who had Miranda _Fucking_ Lawson artificially give me my biotics."

A mirthless chuckle came from the youngest Hawke. "I'd give my powers away just for a chance to be normal," she remarked.

"I have detected a drop in your vitals Serah Hawke," EDI said speaking to the Mage if the group.

"I did not ask for my powers," Bethany said. "And yet they seem to be a burden not only to me but to those who know me."

There was a pause among the group, Garrus was slowly moving backwards, trying to get them to move, but Shepard just moved to stand in front of Bethany. "When you dream, do the demons constantly pester you?"

"Yes. They never stop," she confessed. "They're always trying to reign me in for my power...the chance to have a body... what most people look forward to I dread, because my experience is not the same," came the statement. "Sleep is no peaceful endeavor for me."

Shepard smiled softly. "If you sleep peacefully tonight, let me know. We can talk to the Shadow Broker, I can get you a normal life."

"I will do that," Bethany assured her.

"All clear," Garrus informed them when he checked the next room. "We should keep moving."

* * *

_Stardust: _By the way... we... totally have 19,000+ words of content already written, but not organized at all, we _still_ haven't gotten to Alex Garneau in our archives. So... guesses on how long this madness is gonna run?


	14. Chapter 14

"Eat this!" A voice Shepard hadn't heard in a long time shouted loudly as the doors opened, She watched as a familiar friend flanked by two students flared her biotics before blasting the Cerberus troopers back.

"Jack?" Shepard asked loudly, the woman turned to the doorway, just as surprised.

"Shepard?" Jack asked, surprised, the two women slowly moving to meet at the center of the room but the sound of a heavy mech working it's way into the room cut them off. Both of them looked over to see an Atlas Mech kneel down in a doorway, aiming it's missile launcher at a student. Jack sprinted across the room, sliding across the floor to get in front of the student, getting a barrier up to protect the both of them just as it fired a missile, the two biotics unharmed by the explosion. The driver in the Atlas wasn't one to give up, eventually getting through the doorway.

"Maker, what is that thing?!" Bethany shouted as Shepard's squad started firing at the machine, distracting it and stopping it from firing at Jack again.

"It is an Atlas," EDI answered as she moved into cover. "Or, as you would see it, a Metal Ogre," she added, putting it into terms that the mage would understand.

"Everyone, get down! This thing's outta your league," Jack said to the students, as her fists glowed blue as the student she saved ran up the stairs. "Shepard, keep it off us," she ordered-the former convict never requested things-as she followed after her student, getting to higher ground.

Garrus found himself moving to cover as well. "Don't worry, it still goes down after you pump enough bullets into it," he assured the younger Hawke, as he lined up the machine in his sights. "It just might take a little longer to do is all."

"Aim for the orange glass protecting the cockpit." Shepard ordered. "If we break through that and kill the driver, we won't have to waste time trying to blow it up." she was hiding behind a pillar, breaking cover to fire a triplet of shots from her sniper rifle before leaning back in and reloading. Repeating her actions, sometimes alternating with an overload as well.

Eventually it fell, exploding into scrap metal, Shepard kept moving, she had heard the Cerberus troopers coming down the staircase. Her Valiant singing it's song as she knocked the heads off a few troopers and froze a Centurion before blowing him up with a well aimed biotic throw.

"That's all of them!" Garrus announced, when he killed the last one. He then put his weapon away on his back and approached the Commander. "Honestly Shepard, I swear you hog all the enemies," he teased her, as his mandibles twitched.

The woman in question simply smirked as she approached the stairwell. "Kahlee said she was putting out an SOS. I had no idea the Queen of the Girl Scouts would show up," Jack said, earning the Commander's attention.

The tattooed biotic then turned her attention to her students. "Alright, amp check! Prangley, those fields were weak," she told him, putting a finger in his face as she spoke to him. "Cerberus isn't going to lie down outta pity like that girl you took to prom." Her commented earning a female student to playful shove the reprimanded boy from behind.

"Grab juice and an energy bar. We move in five," Jack told them, before moving and hoping over the balcony. Glowing blue to slow her descent. She then marched right up to the Commander and punched her across the face. "Damn it. How many times did I tell you not to trust Cerberus?" came the demand.

"You're preaching to the goddamn choir Jack." Shepard snapped. "I just saved your ass from those fucking troops."

"Aw, you feel bad?" the younger biotic said stepping into the redhead face. "Well shit, I bet that's a bit comfort to all the people Cerberus has killed."

"Jack's personality appears largely unchanged." EDI spoke as she approached the tattooed woman, her arms crossed,Jack leaned back slightly.

"Hey EDI, nice body. Now you look like a sex bot instead of a sex toy." Jack joked.

Realization then hit the eldest Hawke. "Oh, I remember you," she exclaimed, earning Jack's attention. "You were the one who got to fighting with Miranda, when Goldie Locks and Blueberry were fighting," pointing at the ex-convict with her finger. "You look nothing like I remember though," earning a jab in her side from her sister. "Ow. What? It's true!"

"Shepard? What the hell?" Jack asked of the green eyed woman. "I thought we left them back on their homeworld."

"We did." Shepard answered back, looking at Jack. "I went back for the Hawkes. I've been trying to find the time to figure out the research of the late Doctor Bryson, figured I could use the help of a mage." she nodded at Bethany."But some people..." she pointed her finger at Jack. "Are sending out SOS signals out for Commander Shepard's Communications Specialist to find when she's bored."

The biotic in question simply snickered in amusement. "We can talk about those later," she said. "Right now, all I care about is getting my guys out of here."

"Your guys?" Shepard parroted, Jack chuckled softly.

"Yeah, I guess so." she looked up at the balcony fondly as Shepard shook her head.

"How in the hell did you end up teaching people?" the Commander asked dryly.

Jack gave her a shove in response. "Well, I had some free time while you were off playing prisoner," the former convict informed her. "Alliance brass knew I helped you, they offered me this," Taking a step back, cross her arms over her chest, and glancing up at the balcony. "And apparently the students responded well to my teaching style," amusement in her voice.

"The psychotic biotic!" Prangley said as he leaned over, smiling wide and bright.

"I will destroy you!" the girl who had pushed Prangley earlier commented, making a fist.

Jack turned around fully. "Drink your juice Rodriquez. You couldn't destroy wet tissue paper," she teased the younger woman.

_Cortez to extraction team_, his voice coming in through the Commander's earpiece, causing her to bring a hand to her ear. _The Cerberus cruisers are coming back._

"How long have we got?" Shepard asked

_Two minutes tops Commander, after that there is no way we can get past them. _Cortez responded, Shepard looked up at Jack's class then down at the two Hawkes, all of them looked exhausted.

"Get outta here and back to the Normandy, we'll find another way off this station." she said.

'_Roger that. Good luck Ma'am." _the line went dead as Shepard lower her hand for a moment, pacing in a quick circle before bringing her hand back up to her ear.

"Shepard to Sanders." she declared. "The students are safe but the shuttle is a no go."

_Understood. I might know another way off the station, but I need station wide camera access_, she responded. _Can you disable the Cerberus security override? It's routed through Orion Hall, so it should be nearby._

"How does camera access get us off this station?" Shepard asked as she looked around, eventually spying a terminal off in the corner of the room. She pointed at EDI then at the terminal, the Unshackled AI nodding and going towards it.

_We need to reach the Cerberus shuttles. The cruiser won't target friendly ships, which gives us a fighting chance to escape. Give me back the cameras and I'll find a path that will keep Cerberus from boxing you in._

"So, how are you two holding up?" Garrus inquired of the Hawkes while the Commander scouted around for the security override.

"I'll admit I'm enjoying the new fighting style. It's very..." Sabrina trailed as she made a hand gesture as she struggled to come up with a proper word. "I don't know. I like the rush," she finally settled on after a few moments. "I'm more drained than I normally would be at home...which makes me feel so out of shape," giving a sigh.

Bethany chuckled. "Too many bon-bons sister," the mage teased, although she was in the same boat. They had fought-they'd been in fights all their lives-but Shepard's fighting was so much different from their own.

It was faster, like a haste had been cast on everything. It was more duck and dodge, than outright charging, which Sabrina herself wasn't all that used to; Bethany, however, was used to being a distance fighter and was adjusting faster than her sister in that way.

Shepard had made a comment about Sabrina fighting like a Krogan...which got laughs from their other two companions, but left the sisters clueless as to what she meant. Though Garrus countered that Hawke and Shepard both had that in common; seeing as how both women just loved diving into the thick of things and tearing down their enemies.

Just Shepard had a knack for making things explode...of course Garrus' comment also got him the finger from the redhead, causing him to laugh more.

"I just need to disable the locks and get that door open." Shepard said as she pointed at the door down into the atrium. "Shouldn't take that long." she looked at Bethany then at Jack. "Bethany, I want you to join Jack's squad, you'll be safer and more useful there."

The golden eyed female gave a nod. "Fighting from a distance is what I do best," she remarked with a chuckle.

"We don't need the help!" one of the students shouted. "We're great enough as it is!" there was a collective cry as both Jack and Shepard looked up. "Just because she's with Commander Shepard doesn't mean she can just start calling the shots!"

Sabrina looked curiously at her sister. "You're giving orders now Bethany?" she asked in fake surprise. "Why, I dare say I didn't even see your lips move. And, when they did, I thought you were making a statement, not dishing out orders," she then pretended to dig in her ear. "I must really clean my ears out better." Amusement filling her tone, as she eyed the students.

"Hey!" Jack pointed up at her team. "I am the one calling the shots!" she pointed at Bethany. "Take a good hard look, does she look like the type that should be on the front line with Shepard or up there, with you guys, making us stronger as a team?!"

The students were silent for a few moments. "With us ma'am," Rodriguez answered, breaking the groups silence.

"Play to your strengths kids," Garrus told them. "You'll live longer if you do."

"Good." Jack cross her arms, looking at Shepard. "Get the door."

* * *

"STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!" The Seeker roared cutting of Varric from his tale. "What the _hell_ was all of that dwarf? Bullshit! Bullshit!"

An amused smirk on his face. She let him get further than he thought she would before interrupting. "Why, I'm telling you the tale Seeker," he answered, sitting back in his seat. "It _is_ what you asked to hear after all."

"Yes, I did, but there is no way this can be part of the story." she snarled. "Star Metal ships floating in the night sky? Massive metal devices with pure lyrium, Ezio, whatever! Cores? The abominations and darkspawn companions I understand, but nothing else." she was firm. "The Templar was ordered to follow the mage for their safety, why was he locked away?!"

"Oh, believe me Seeker, if you'd have ever met Junior you would have understood why," the dwarf responded. "For Shepard's world, he posed more danger than even their Reapers considering all the trouble he managed to cause within barely a day of him being there.

And, considering how he was responsible for putting Sunshine away in the Circle," leaning forward as he spoke. "He was already on Shepard's shit list from that stunt. Future actions simply dug his grave deeper. And, we all know what they say about digging a grave for someone else: to dig one for yourself as well."

"With those words, you are implying that the Shepherd's world allowed magic to control them. That is no wonder their Blight, these... Reapers were attacking them..." Cassandra said, she stopped when she saw Varric shake his head. "So that is not the case?"

"It's...complicated Seeker," he responded after a few moments. "In a way they were responsible for their Blight, and at the same time they weren't.

But those are details that come later," he assured her.

* * *

Bethany just couldn't bring herself to believe all of this. Fighting alongside a class of biotics, no threat of a Templar turning around and stabbing them in the back. She watched and helped as they laid down the fire to help Shepard and her sister navigate through the mess Cerberus was making of the courtyard.

"Rodriguez! Watch your barriers!" Jack barked as she unleashed a shockwave down at the soldiers below.

Pradley ducked behind cover, before rising and sending down a warp. "Just what type of biotic is she?!" He shouted, referring to Bethany as he erected a barrier.

The girl who had been sent with them was using powers he had never seen!

She didn't glow. She was able to use multiple powers at once; summoning her own barrier while firing off shots from a...staff?

"Stay focused Pradley!" Jack sneered. "Twenty Questions later!"

'_I need fire on that Atlas!_' Shepard's command came through the comms. '_We can't get a good angle down here!'_

"Alright, you heard her!" The biotic teacher shouted. "Hit that overgrown Cerberus toy with everything you got!

Hey Cupcake," calling to the Mage and getting her attention. "Think you can hit this thing with something we can't?"

"Cupcake?" Came the question as the group ducked a missile.

_Jack!_ Shepard's cry came in over the comms. _We can't keep running around like this!_

"Stay focused kids!" Jack ordered. "Just keep dodging Shepard!"

Bethany channelled her mana, charging it, as she moved forward to be slightly closer. Once it was locked in her sights she struck; her arm coming out, her hand covered in her magic and eyes glowing, as she reached out for the mech.

Around it, a light blue barrier forming around it. Then, the sound of crushing metal could be heard as its prison started to get smaller; the Cerberus operative trying to escape but to no avail.

Then, Bethany closed her fist, and the Atlas was nothing more than a crushed pile of metal.

"Shit!" Jack swore loudly. "I don't think even I can do that!" she looked at Bethany, all of the students looking at her. "I know Shepard know's how to pick them, but... damn... we should have stolen you from the start."

The mage flushed under the praise. Outside of her sister and their companions, no one had ever really praised her magical abilities before; she wasn't used to it.

"Spirits...I'm starting to wish mages existed here as well," Garrus remarked. "Especially if they can do this kind of damage," looking at the scrap heap.

"That...was..." Prasley was still looking at the heap. "You gotta show me how you did that!"

_Jack, we're moving onto the Atrium._ Shepard's voice came in. _I just hope this ends soon because I'm running getting to the end of my rope with these bastards._

The biotic waved signalling that she'd heard. "Fawn over her later Pradley," she told the boy, shoving him to get his mind back in track. "Right now, we've to to focus getting the fu...the heck outta here.

Let's move it people!"

* * *

Jack had the group of them pause, take a break, check their amps again while waiting for Shepard's signal. Rodriguez had taken a bullet to the arm because she let her barrier slip. She pressed up against a wall and slid down, trying to catch her breath. Even from fighting from such a distance, everything was so fast paced, the way Shepard's squad just tore through the atrium. With no doubt in her mind, she was positive that just half of the Normandy team could just

massacre all of Meredith's Templars in a heartbeat.

"_That's an impressive barrier you got there Octavia." _a muffled voice came in through Jack's Omni-Tool, having left the channel open with Shepard, so full conversations could happen without them being in the same room. Something Bethany still didn't understand. "_Our file says you've been working on shield technology."_

"_Mark!" _Shepard's shout interrupted the voice and the sound of two gunshots could be heard, Jack growled softly.

"Blasted Cerberus."

"_Live fire!"_ a Cerberus operative shouted as more gunfire filled the channel for a couple more seconds, the biotics looked up at their teacher who was keying something into her Omni-Tool , eventually getting a video feed from EDI. The Cerberus troopers were dead, and Shepard was in the lead slowly walking towards their fellow students behind a barrier.

"Oh thank god." one of the girls spoke. "Archer is still alive."

"_I'm Commander Shepard, here with the Alliance." _Shepard spoke. "_I'm here to help."_

"_I didn't buy it from the last guy, and I got no reason to buy it now." _Octavia spoke. Garrus nodding along. The girl was paranoid, a good quality to have."

"_The square root of nine hundred six point oh one equals..."_

"_Thirty point one." _Shepard answered softly.

"_Hello Commander Shepard."_ came the response. Jack started to chuckle as the conversation continued through the tool.

_"David, you know her?"_ the other male inquired in surprise.

"_Yes. She rescued me from Cerberus. Sent me here. She made it quiet_," David informed the other boy.

There was a moment of silence on Shepard's end. The sound of something being powered down; probably a barrier. "_You did a great job keeping yourselves safe." _Shepard spoke, a few students looked at Jack then at Bethany.

"You are so lucky to know Commander Shepard." one of the boys spoke to Bethany. "She's a hero."

Bethany let out a chuckle. "That's what people keep telling me," she responded. "But, honestly, she's no different than my sister. They're no different than you or I," she told him.

The mage was very familiar with this type of adoration, her sister got it quite often. She wasn't jealous, being a mage she preferred little to no attention on herself; but, just because she did not outright get it, did not mean that Bethany was unfamiliar with it. It was something about Shepard and her sister that just made people hold them in high regards. The things they did, that anyone could accomplish if pushed enough, seemed to always stand out even if others had done the exact same thing; the air they gave off...it seemed to inspire people.

It's what made people want to be around them, follow them, even met them for a fleeting moment.

"_He looks much healthier." _EDI spoke, David moved closer to the camera on the feed.

"_I remember you. The Normandy computer. Sorry."_

"_No apology is necessary."_

"Shepard's great." Jack said, sounding more sarcastic than anything. "But only when she isn't being the Paragon of the Knights of Good." she chuckled. "Thankfully, that doesn't happen often. I mean, how else would have she talked Saren into committing suicide?" she laughed before killing the video feed. "Hard to believe she might just be our last hope."

The students nodded before the boy turned his attention back to Bethany. "So, you gotta show me how you crushed that Atlas!" he pestered in excitement. "I mean, your biotics are nowhere near as intense as ours and yet you crushed that thing like a can!"

His praise of her just flustering the youngest Hawke all the more.

"Forget that, I wanna know how you managed to be on the Commander's team," another student spoke up, eyeing the golden eyed woman.

_Shit, all Cerberus operatives to the shuttle bay!_ Came the command as it filled the entire station.

"_Jack! Move! Move! Move!"_ Shepard's command came in through the coms as Jack looked at the squad.

"You heard the Commander. It's time we get out of here!" she barked. "Shepard will cover us, break for the shuttle in groups of twos!"

* * *

"Okay we're clear. Move your asses before backup arrives," Jack said as the Commander blasted the Atlas into pieces, before ushering her students along.

_Hurry, Commander! The Normandy has pulled the cruiser out of position. We need to leave now!_ Sanders said over the Commander's Omni-Tool as she and her team headed for the door leading to the shuttles.

The two groups converged inside. Kahlee accessing the terminal, getting the shuttles open; the students quickly hurrying to get inside. Once they were in Shepard's team and Kahlee went next.

"Wait...where the hell's Rodriquez?" Jack demanded when she didn't spot the black haired student.

The sound of gunfire drew their attention. They saw Rodriquez back in the previous room, running and dodging bullets from Cerberus soldiers. She ended up falling, quickly scrambling to take cover behind a row of chairs as the soldiers slowly advanced on her.

"She needs covering fire!" Shepard shouted as she ran up to the window, smashing the butt of her rifle against the glass a couple times, managing to crack it. "Crap!"

Jack slowly approached, beginning to glow blue. "She needs more than that!" came the statement, as she pulled her fist back before swinging it at the glass window, shattering it instantly, as well as knocking the Cerberus soldier's off their feet.

The Commander hoped over the threshold and went to Rodriguez, who had covered her head from the spraying shards. She helped the girl up and assisted her back toward the shuttles; the Cerberus soldier's rising to their feet and beginning to fire.

The bullets missing their targets as the group of three made it to the shuttle, the door quickly shutting behind them, as the engines came to life, before it was airborne and through the bay doors, speeding toward the Normandy.

"Joker." Shepard spoke up, placing her hand against her ear. "We've escaped in a Cerberus Shuttle, watch your fire."

_Right, I've got you on sensors. Should just be a minute,_ the pilot responded.

"Thank you Commander." Kahelee spoke. "We would have never gotten off that station if you had never come." she smiled softly as Shepard moved around in the shuttle, eventually coming to a stop to stand in front of the Hawkes, her back to them.

"I... I cannot believe it." Bethany whispered in awe to her sister, as Jack started talking to her students. "Their biotics... everything about them is so different."

Sabrina leaned over. "Maybe it...maybe..." she let out a sigh when she couldn't think of anything. "I don't know what to say to that," the older Hawke confessed. "Perhaps, though...they," referring to the students and them glowing blue. "Are what you could have been if you were born here." Bethany looked away from her sister for a moment, a life like this, she would gladly accept.

"Maybe." Bethany answered as Shepard said that Jack's squad was better off for support roles, earning a choir of complaints. "I should ask Doctor T'Soni about how one discovers they are a biotic."

_Commander, we've got a visual on you now. Preparing to dock,_ Joker's voice came through the comms. _Hey Jack, now that you're military, you gonna wear a uniform?_ He teased the former convict. _Or are you just getting the officer bars tattooed on?_

Jack looked up. "Screw you, f...Flight Lieutenant," she said, casting her gaze to the ground as she managed to catch herself.

_Uh...what the hell was that?_

Kahlee answered him. "Jack promised to watch her language in order to maintain the necessary professionalism we need from our teachers," she told the Normandy pilot.

_What, does she have a swear jar or something?_ he prodded. _Cause I bet if we emptied that thing, we could afford another cruiser._ Came the quip.

"Cover your ears kids," Jack instructed before casting her gaze upward. "Hey, Joker, f-"

* * *

"Commander."Liara spoke as she approached the team and all the Grissom Students. "Carver Hawke has awoken in the brig. He is not pleased with James acting as his Warden.

He is demanding to be released, and is calling for either yourself or Hawke," the Information Broker added.

Jack looked curiously at Shepard. "Someone's been busy," she remarked, as she folded her arms. "Wanna fill me in?"

"You never met him." Shepard said. "But Hawke's got a sissy for a brother. Turned his own sister in."

"Damn. That's low," the psychotic biotic remarked.

"Also, EDI...have Joker set a course for the Citadel," The Commander added as she headed toward the brig with Jack following.

"Understood Shepard," the AI agreed, Shepard sighed, running her hand through her hair before making a beeline to the brig.

"You should follow me as well." Shepard told the two Hawkes. "Lest you want me to let Jack rip him a new one."

"I figured you want to do that yourself," Sabrina remarked in her usual charming manner. But, she did follow after the older woman; Bethany wanted to head back to their quarters. "I mean you did nearly crush his windpipe. Wanting to choke someone to death must be one of those...across the stars things?"

"Naw. Its a Shepard thing." Jack commented. "Everyone else it's a bullet to the brain."

Sabrina accepted that answer. "You've changed since the last time I saw you," she stated, referring to the tattooed biotic. "In truth I saw you more as killing destructive force, not a mentor," the rogue said. "No offense."

"None taken." Jack chuckled as Shepard opened the door down to the brig. They could hear Vega, loudly, talk about his time in basic.

"Then the crazy bastard started using live rounds during our training. Saying that we needed to experience the pressure of being under fire and that blanks weren't going to cut it. A few of my teammates actually cracked under the fire and the grenades and ended up getting killed."

"Shut up!" They could hear Carver shout. "Where is my sister?! Where is Shepard?!"

"BUT AS CRAZY AS HIS METHOD WAS, IT WORKED," James spoke louder to drown the man out. "WHEN WE GOT SENT INTO THE FIELD WE WERE PREPARED FOR ALL THE MADNESS OF A GOOD FIREFIGHT. AND WE ALL MANAGED TO MAKE IT OUT IN ONE PIECE."

"UNTIL SOMEONE DECIDED TO GO CRASH MY SHUTTLE INTO A CERBERUS SHUTTLE!" Shepard shouted as they arrived. "Sheesh! I should get you a roll of duct tape there James."

The marine chuckled. "But then I wouldn't be nearly as entertained," he responded amusement, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Too bad he ain't like the kids back home."

"A bullet works wonders too," Jack added in, as Carver continued shouting.

"So how's Junior been?" Shepard kicked the cell door once, James laughed.

"I don't think he's been listening to me."

Shepard shook her head before banging on the door again. "What do you want Templar?" she spat.

"I want out of here!" Carver snapped back. "I also demand that you return what is mine to me," he added, referring to his weapon and armour.

"Sorry bud." Shepard almost sung. "You're on my territory now, and here. I'm a SpecTRe, I'm above the law. What I say. Goes. And a Religious Zealot running around on the Citadel is the last thing Humanity needs right now. So, for your safety and the safety of my crew. You are confined to the brig with Lieutenant Vega."

"SpecTRe?" came the echo, clear signs that he had no idea what the term was. "I have heard of no such title. Probably something you made up. Regardless! I am a member of the Knights-Templar!" Carver shouted back. "I hold authority over you and your kind!"

"My kind?" Shepard leaned against her door. "Boy, your title has gone to your head. SpecTRes are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them above rank and file." she quoted what the council had told her when she was given her status for the first time. "I am above you and your petty Knights-Templar."

"Templars?" Jack echoed. "They even still exist? I thought they disappeared a long time ago or some shit like that," she voiced.

Garrus nodded. "True, but on Hawke's homeworld they're still, alive and kicking," he responded.

Carver growled at how she was simply downing his order. It made him more upset that she was a mage. "No mage is above the Maker and his servants!" he shouted through the door. "But, I grow tired of speaking to you anyway _apostate_," he spat the word as if to insult her.

"Where is my sister? I want to speak with her!" He demanded. "You seem to follow her, just like everyone else. So why don't you go and fetch your master for me you collared dog lord's bitch!"

Shepard snarled as she unlocked the door and walked into the cell. While slightly shorter than Caver she still towered over him. "What the fuck... did you just call me." she asked slowly.

"_Pffft...whoa" _Joker's voice came into the cell. "_I mean, we know people call you a bitch Commander...but I think he just put a new spin on it"_

"He's also the first to call her one to her face," Garrus pointed out.

An amused smirk was on Jack's lips. "Remind me to use that," she commented.

"He certainly knows how to put a spin on a classic I'll give him that," Vega remarked, stunned, as they all peered into the cell.

Despite the aura Shepard was giving off, Carver stood his ground. Weakness in a Templar would be easily exploited by a Mage; he would not faulter under her gaze.

"A collared dog lord's bitch," he repeated, glaring down at her. "That's what you are. You follow my sister around like the rest of em. Following her orders.

Do you roll over and do tricks for her too? Does she rub your belly when you've been a good girl?" He taunted.

"Do you know who's ship you are on?" Shepard asked darkly as she moved closer to him. "Who's the one in command here? Whose war your sister has volunteered to aid in? Mine." she snarled darkly. "I am Commander Shepard. Council SpecTRe! This is my ship! This is my war! If you're going to be a self-righteous asshole so help me _God _I will throw you out the airlock! Let us see how well a fucking goddamn Templar does in the cold hard vacuum of space! It's a rather painful way to die! Trust me. I know!"

"I think the last time she lost it was when you as Miranda almost tore the ship apart." Garrus quipped Jack shook her head.

"No. It's when Tali paid Legion a 'visit'," Jack answered.

"A war that you and your kind undoubtedly brought upon yourselves with your magic!" He snarled back, sounding more animal than human.

Shepard made a move to charge her biotics, preparing to strike the insolent bastard. But, a strange thing happened; her powers suddenly went into cool-down throwing her off balance by their sudden disappearance.

"What the fuck?!" Jack demanded to know as she felt her biotics go into cool-down. "Shepard?"

With his opponent off kilter, Carver took this moment to strike. Punching the Commander squarely in the face; sending her to the ground. She wasn't one to normally fall after just one hit-even from a Krogan-but Carver just found that one opening, one that would never happen again..

"It was a weak dampening he used." Garrus said as Shepard jumped back into her feet and tackled Carver back onto the ground. "I felt to too, forced my Omni-Tool to reset."

"Whoa," Jack said as she managed to get herself back together. "Now she's really pissed," taking in the Commander's facial expression. Her gaze then turned toward Hawke. "Your brother...was he adopted?" She asked seriously.

"No, he's my brother by blood I'm afraid," Sabrina admitted, watching the scene unfold. Normally she would have interfered by now but Carver wanted to be his own man; he made it perfectly clear that he did not need or want her coming to his aid.

Of course, she would still come to his aid; the tit was her brother after all. She wouldn't jump in until absolutely necessary or until the last minute. Carver was then thrown out of the cell. Not by Shepard's biotics, but by her raw strength. He collapsed on the steel floor, coughing as Shepard picked him back up by the front of his clothing.

Vega folded his arms across his massive chest. "I've gotta say Lola, I've yet to see a family resemblance," he commented. "And he's your sister's twin? I'm _really_ not seeing a resemblance there either. I'm under the impression that you and your sister are the twins."

"Who is in command here?!" Shepard barked.

"Carver," Sabrina began. "Think _very_ carefully about your words." He responded by snarling at her; which she answered with a warning hiss of her own.

"I do _not_ need your help sister!" He spat before turning his attention back toward the Commander. "I will not bend to the will of an apostate!

_Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter. Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just_" he said, chanting a passage from the Chant of Light.

Shepard looked at him as if he grew another head. Shepard gave Hawke a curious look.

"It's a stanza from the Chant if Light," Sabrina answered the unasked question. "The Templars chant it as...to give them strength," she attempted to explain.

"Unlike you and your love for mages _sister_," Carver spat the word. "I am no longer blinded to the dangers of associate with this apostate, and have the gall to drag mother into this as well!" He shouted at her. "As if you don't give her enough to worry about already!"

Sabrina folded her arms across her chest, cocking a hip out to the side; an amused smirk coming into her face. "Given our lineage, she was more upset by you," she countered.

"A respected order. A position with a future, even if...Never mind. I do not expect you to understand," he said before turning his golden orbs to Shepard. "As for your command," he pause before spitting in the redhead's face. "That's what I think of it. Of you. And all your kind."

"Carver!" Sabrina shouted.

_HOLY HELL DUDE!_ Joker yelled as he saw the move through the camera feeds.

Garrus's mandibles had all but fallen to the floor, and James was just as speechless as the Turian..

"Yeah...I don't think me and the Cheerleader or Legion and Tali came close to this," Jack said in amazement.

Everything just seemed to have frozen for a moment. The hand holding onto Carver's shirt started to shake. Anger. The intent was clear. Her biotics flared as she released him. Catching him in a stasis before striking him down the hallway with a full on biotic punch. She marched up to him and kicked him again before flipping him onto his stomach and stopping, realizing she had no way to cuff him.

"You've done it." she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back onto his knees before yanking him back onto his ass. "On your feet."

"Why should I-" the black haired male tried to protest, but the Commander kicked him in his side, earning a grunt from him.

He glared at her, which only caused her to kick him again; harder the second time. He tried to grab her foot on the third attempt, in an effort to throw her off balance-pull her down maybe-but she was far stronger than he was.

Which truly surprised him...even though he had gotten a small taste of it when she knocked him down the hall.

Eventually, he stood to his feet. But, he convinced himself he had done so because he had wanted to; not because he wanted her to stop kicking him. "Happy now, Apostate?" he mocked, as he cross his arms over his chest, looking her defiantly in her eyes.

Garrus's mandibles twitched. "You know, I think your brother might stress her out more than the Reaper threat," he commented to the rogue. "And that's a bad thing all things considered."

Sabrina gave a shrug. "What can I say? It's my brother's best talent," she responded with her usual charm. "If you want your nerves fried within five minutes, my brother is the best one to make it happen."

"Well Shepard has a rather short fuse." Jack said as Shepard marched up to Carver again, striking him across the face before grabbing him by the hair and dragging him to the elevator.

"Fucking wish we had stairs!" Shepard shouted as she tossed Carver in before stepping in. "EDI! CIC!" she snapped as the doors closed.

"The ladders are this way." Garrus pointed over in the other direction, "We probably want to see this, or stop it."

_Don't worry Garrus, I've got the cameras all set up,_ Joker spoke over the comm system. _I think this footage would make for lovely Christmas cards. Hey, you think I'll be able to get some creds off him spitting in her face if I were to sell the vid online?_

"If you make em, I damn sure want one," Jack said as Garrus led the way to the ladders.

* * *

Fun Fact #2: We started Arc 3 for fun... Chapter 14 wasn't even finished... 48 pages later... we went back to chapter 14... now we're working on chapter 17!


	15. Chapter 15

**Stardust A/N: **_So the growing concern over Carver has become noteworthy, I don't blame you. Unfortunately it will continue, to an extent, to Chapter 17. However just to make things clear, it is only Shepard who hates Carver. Notice how she's the only one who's attacked him? As OffMyLeash wished me to clarify. His sisters have been hurt by him, and the crew are either annoyed or finding amusement from his views. There is a reason why Shepard is after Carver and is slowly becoming more and more protective of Bethany. As foreshadowed slightly in this chapter._

* * *

"Garrus," Samantha called, approaching the Turian. "What the bloody blazes is going on with the Commander?" she inquired curiously.

When the redhead had stepped off the elevator, practically pulling the male Hawke by his hair. She had attracted the attention of the entire Skeleton Crew up on the CIC. The older woman had said nothing as she marched around the galaxy map and headed toward the bridge area.

"Unhand me Apostate!" Carver was shouting and whining at the same time, trying to get away from the Commander, he did for a moment, but Shepard was faster, smashing him against the console that surrounded the Galaxy map and grabbing him by the shirt again and pulling him up towards the bridge.

"The airlock." Garrus realized. "Spirits I didn't think she was going to really go through with it!" he said in a panic.

It was mostly just an empty threat, a way to express just how far someone had pushed you, but Shepard had never really gone through with it.

Jack was smirking. "I love it when she goes all renegade like this," she remarked. "She needs to do it more often. Its a great way to blow off steam."

The rogue among them was wearing a look of deep concern on her face. "Is she...really about to kill him?" her tone filled with worry. While her brother was an ass, and she admitted he did overstep a ton of bounds by spitting in Shepard's face, she wasn't so sure it warranted killing him.

"Considering that she even took the time to take him to the airlock...I'd say that's a very high possibility Lola," James replied, as his eyes locked onto the Commander.

Carver struggled all the way up until Shepard made it to another door and opened it up. "I need a barrier over the Airlock EDI." Shepard snarled as she opened the next door without cycling, there was no decompression like their should have been as Shepard kicked Carver out into the small room.

"So, is your Maker all the way out here eh?" Shepard snarled.

A snarl came from the younger male as he drew himself to his feet, eyes trained on Shepard. He made a move to reach for his sword out of habit, only to frown recalling that it wasn't there. He took a moment to cast a glance over his shoulder...and wished he hadn't.

Nothing but darkness was behind him, minus a few stars.

It was emptiness as far as he could see. His breath was taken away, and for a few moment he'd forgotten his hostilities toward the Commander; she seemed so unimportant as to what he turned around to stare out into. He felt his breathing slowly increasing in speed.

He did not like this. How the darkness seemed to crawl towards him; a chill running up his spine from the void. He froze when he felt Shepard grabbed the back of his shirt and pushed him forward. "This world, my world, is very much real, and much bigger than yours. What I say, goes, or I will push you out this airlock." she snarled. "As long as you're on my ship, you're under my command."

Carver opened his mouth. He was tempted to agree to acknowledge her authority; he'd never seen a mage with the power to do something like this before.

"Ye-No," he corrected himself at the last moment. He then fell to his knees, taking on the kneeling stance one did when they prayed to the Maker; clasping his hands together beneath his chin. "_Foul and corrupt are you. Who have taken My gift. And turned it against My children," _he began to chant, as he rocked back and forth. "_Maker, though the darkness comes upon me, I shall embrace the light. I shall weather the storm. I shall endure. What you have created, no one can tear asunder."_

"You...are trying to weaken my resolve apostate," he said, turning to look at Shepard. "But my resolve remains tempered by the Maker's guidance. You are no leader, just a snake that spits lies and corrupts those around you with your venom.

You might have corrupted my sister, but you will not corrupt me," he stated firmly. "I will protect those who believe in what is right and just and destory all those who challenge the Maker's will. Starting with you and the perversions of your kind."

Shepard kicked him back down, Carver must have noticed by now that she had not used any biotics, any tech to drag him to where he was now. "Then you are not leaving this ship while your family is here." she snarled at him. "I don't need the likes of you upsetting the other races." she knelt down beside him, her hand going for his throat. "What I say goes, you're in the brig."

"Wow...that's some hardcore religious belief," Joker commented, having risen from his seat and hobbled to the airlock to watch the scene. "He makes Ashley look like a non-believer."

"Carver's views are similar to those of 17th Century Earth," EDI spoke up. "During that time followers of Christianity believed heavily in the scripture and declared those who did not to be witches or devil worshipers."

The templar huffed as he attempted to get her hand off of his neck. How was this apostate, no maleficarum, so strong? Mages aren't known for their strength, which is why nearly all of them chose to fight from a distance.

He then cut his golden eyes to his sister, who was standing off to the side with the Darkspawn, a tattooed woman, a dark skinned woman, and the man who had been stationed outside his cell. "So you are content to stand idly by as she attacks me sister?!" he questioned of her as he continued to struggle with the Commander. "Does the value family mean nothing to you!"

The irony was not lost on Sabrina that Carver was looking to her for help. When it was he who couldn't stand when she saved him; he, who wanted to get out from beneath her shadow, and become his own man.

"Carver..." his name was as far as she got before Shepard cut her off.

"No." Shepard snapped as she leaned down against him again. "This is payback for what you did to your sister." she snarled. "She values family, we all do, but those who betray their family, have no place in this world."

"You have no power to judge me _Commander_," mocking her title as he hissed it at her. "I have to defend the one moment I stopped waiting and did something?" came the challenge.

"YOU HANDED OVER YOUR OWN SISTER!" Shepard snapped back at him.

A hiss came from him. "It was for the best! For her protection!" he insisted. "We had nothing back then...no title or coin to hide behind. The templars would have found her sooner or later.

I made the best decision I could at the time."

"I would have taken her!" Shepard snarled. "Had I known." she looked back at Hawke, almost apologetic for a second. "I would have done everything in my power to give her that freedom." she told Sabrina.

"I know you would have," she assured the older woman, giving a slight bow. "I thank you for the acknowledgement. Bethany would have appreciated your offer."

Carver snorted. "You have no idea how hard of a decision it was for me to make!" he snapped at the Commander, drawing her gaze again. "I wouldn't expect you to! You don't know what it's like to be in that kind of position! To have to make a hard choice!

But I did, because I'm a leader...which is more than can be said of you," he spat up at her.

"You're a leader?" Shepard turned back to him, almost looking amused. "That's got to be the best thing I've heard all day." she adjusted her hold on him, leaning her forearm against his neck. "By the sounds of things, it looks like you are saying that you can take my team. A team that is loyal to me, and lead them better than me."

"I can!" he answered back quickly. "I could even lead my sister's companions better than she can!"

Sabrina chuckled. "If you could talk to Isabela for two minutes and not find a knife if your pants," she quipped with a snicker. "You couldn't even have a conversation with her without getting flustered.

And you giving orders to Aveline? Creators don't get me started," becoming highly amused at the thought of Carver trying to give orders to the Guard-Captain.

Or any of their companions really. They'd run all over her poor brother before he even knew what had happened to him.

"You never let me lead because you were afraid I'd be a better leader than you! And that your comrades would like following me about," Carver insisted, turning his eyes toward the rogue.

"Wait, Shepard you aren't seriously entertaining the option of having him lead us are you?" Garrus asked, mandibles twitching at he looked at the redhead. "I think I was liking this better when you were threatening to put him out the airlock."

"I think I am." Shepard stood up off Carver before kicking him closer to the side, closer to the black abyss of space. "Suit him up, give him a gun, let's see how well he can lead in a firefight."

"Shit Shepard, he's gonna get you all killed." Jack commented, Shepard scoffed.

"People like him." she looked at Carver. "Need to realize that they either fall in line or get crushed under my boot, no one stands in my way."

* * *

"Shepard," Liara called as she entered into her room to find her bondmate pacing like a caged animal.

Shepard ignored her as she stopped moving. Coming to a rest at the terminal. "I know people can be hard. Just..." she turned to face her. "People that religious haven't existed since we found the Mars ruins."

Liara gave a nod as she approached; placing a comforting hand on the marine's shoulder. "And imagine that Hawke's homeworld is filled with others that share in Carver's views," she pointed out. "But thank the Goddess not all of them are as...devoted...as Carver."

"They have an entire order. Their entire religion is devoted to the imprisonment of mages. Our arrival, our interference. It's a mistake." she admitted

"Shepard, we did not plan to go there," Liara pointed out. "It was something that we had not planned nor had any control over.

Besides, who's to say that Carver would not have joined the Templars?" She challenged. "That even without our presence he still would have turned his sister over to the circle?"

"You're right." Shepard turned to face her. "After seeing the rest of Hawke's Companions to be so accepting... I should have known..."

The Shadow Broker gave a her a smile. "Varric also mentioned something about different religions," she pointed out. "While the issue of mages is across the board, how they are treated varies depending on the religion.

Or so I would assume," she pointed out, cupping the redhead's face in her hand. "Are you really going to have him lead the next ground assault?"

Shepard leaned into the touch, closing her eyes. "Just for a couple minutes, just to watch him snap. Then I'll take my place back."

"He seems stubborn," the Asari pointed out before smirking. "Like someone else I know," she teased.

"Yeah yeah... laugh it up." Shepard stepped in closer. "I'm a different brand of stubborn."

The scientist laughed. "Oh really?" She teased, moving to play with a lock of hair. "I suppose that is true. You have yet to spit in anyone's face," Liara conceded. "You usually put a gun into it instead."

"Don't remind me." Shepard grumbled before shivering. "Now I feel like I need to wash my face again."

"You certainly do if you want me to kiss you," Liara agreed as she removed her hand.

Shepard shook her head before stepping back. "I'll be in my cabin." she added before leaving.

* * *

"You look like shit."

"Good morning to you too Jack." Shepard yawned before rolling her head side to side slightly from her seat in the mess hall. A steaming cup of black coffee before her.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" came the question Shepard shrugged her shoulders.

"Five hours or so." came the answer. "Leandra Hawke would probably beat me if I skipped out on sleep."

That got an amused laugh from the pure biotic. "The great Commander Shepard afraid of a punishment by an old woman," Jack teased. "Who knew that was all it took to subdue you."

"You weren't there Jack, she chewed out me, Liara and James all within the same hour." she took a sip of her drink. "She's a mother first. I cannot blame her for that; and you can even tell that the crew is adapting to her presence. I brought her along on a whim, and I don't see anyone complaining."

"Shit," Jack remarked, clearly impressed as she leaned against the counter. "Wish I'd have been there to see that. That's pure extranet gold."

_Leandra's presence seems to have helped a number of crew members_, EDIs voice chimed in. _stress levels have decreased and vital signatures have increased_.

"Were in the middle of an invasion. A mother figure might just be what we need right now." Shepard sighed. "We all know Doctor Chakwas is more of the cool aunt type anyway." she finished off her mug and stood up to get another cup.

"Jack." she paused after a moment. "Did I go too far with Carver last night?"

"In my opinion you didn't go far enough," the convict turned teacher responded. "I mean, given all the shit he pulled. Kids more of a wild card than even me."

"That's certainly one way to put it." Shepard responded as she made her way back, only stopping once to stare fondly at the door to Liara's office for a moment. "First time I actually used the airlock though."

"Good job Shepard," the tattooed biotic congratulated her. "Least people can't call your bluff anymore," giving a light laugh.

There was a laugh as Shepard stretched out her back, raising her arms above her head. "Once Joker wakes up we'll be heading to the Citadel." she said, there was no point in travelling throughout the night when it was just a couple relay jumps away. So they opted to stop as a fuel station overnight after that mess on Grissom, give Jack, Kahlee and the kids a moment to wind down before being thrown back into the fire. "I'm gonna check on the Hawkes. Make sure they made it through the night."

"Guess I'll check on my guys too," Jack announced. "Might even put em through their paces," giving a chuckle as she pushed away from the counter. "Don't go getting in trouble with mama bear now," the ex-con teased as she walked away, earning an amused shake of the Commander's head.

"I'm pretty sure EDI would record it for Joker anyway." she commented before knocking on the door leading into Life Support.

"Yes?" Leandra called, which she took as a sign to enter. "Hello Shepard," the older woman greeted.

"Morning." Shepard answered as she walked in, more so focused on her coffee cup than those in her room. "Just checking in to make sure you all slept soundly." she told the older Hawke. "Back on the old Normandy, the silence kept Tali up."

An amused chuckle came from Leandra. "I did," she admitted. "And considering that both my daughters are still sleeping I'll wager they're sleeping soundly as well.

Bethany is usually awake before even I," she informed the younger woman. "Come to think of it I haven't seen Sabrina stay asleep for this long either."

"Then I will not bother you further." Shepard said as EDI's voice chimed over the intercom.

_Commander, we'll be making preparations to leave for the Citadel shortly._

"Thanks EDI." Shepard answered before looking at Leandra. "To get to the Citadel from here is just two Relay Jumps, it's not a long trip, we should be there in the next hour or so."

The mother nodded. "And I'm sure they'll still be asleep, the bums," she commented playfully, she was chipper for it to be so early in the morning. "And speaking of sleep...did you sleep last night Shepard?"

"I caught something between the hours of one and seven." Shepard ran her hand through her hair. "Seeing I cannot remember what happened, and seeing that I am not hungover." she laughed. "Anyway. I need to finish my rounds. I made your youngest daughter there an offer yesterday. When she wakes tell her to find me. Unless all hell breaks loose of course." she laughed at her own joke before walking away.

* * *

"Commander?" Bethany called outside of the older woman's quarters.

Silence was her answer at first before the sound of something falling and the Commander swearing. The door to the cabin opened on their own.

Cautiously, the Mage stepped inside. "Um...is this not a good time?" She asked, unsure if she had interrupted something. "I mean I can always come back," she rushed out quickly.

"Wait! Wait!" Shepard called out before she made it to the elevator. "I just dropped a model. That's all." Shepard appeared in her doorway holding what Bethany assumed was a small star metal ship. "Come in. The fish won't bite."

The younger woman nodded, before turning and heading into the woman's room once more. This time she took a moment to observe the space around her; it was a very big room.

"You have a lot of space," Bethany noted as she took in the vast room. "Seems a lot for one person."

"I make it work." Shepard said as Bethany watched her climb back onto to the top of her desk to rearrange her model collection. Out of all of the models Bethany could only recognise the SR-2. Then the smaller identical looking one she assumed was the old Normandy. "I'm at the top, to most people it's a rather lonely place."

The black haired female let out a chuckle. "It's what I've heard," she responded before sitting down on what was called a 'couch'. "Mother said that you wanted to see me," voicing why she was there.

"I did." Shepard answered as she set the old Shadow Broker base on it's little stand. "You do remember what I told you yesterday after we helped Seanne?"

A nod. "You wanted to know about my dreams," she said. "I...I slept fine," came the awed admittance. "For the first time in my life I was able to sleep without encountering demons," she added. She then let out an embarrassed chuckle. "It seems like such a silly thing to take joy from."

"It's not." Shepard hopped off her desk. "You had never known a sound sleep until today. Take that for granted." she moved to sit beside Bethany.

"I will. I actually want to go back to sleep, simply for enjoyment," the younger woman female admitted. "But I also remember you mentioning the Shadow Broker. I am not understanding how they could assist me though," Bethany pointed out. "Surely I would have to pay for their services?"

"No. You will not." Shepard smiled. "The Shadow Broker still owes me a few favours I can easily cash in on." the older woman ruffled the top of Bethany's hair for a moment before standing back up. "But I don't want you to be making that decision right now, you've haven't even seen the Citadel yet."

A laugh erupted from the Hawke. "Pulling a page from the handbook eh?" She teased the older woman.

"Naw. You remind me of someone I used to know." Shepard answered. "That was a long time ago."

_Hey, Commander?_ It was Joker. _Can you come up to the bridge? I'm having a hard time trying to raise Citadel Control._

"I'm on my way." Shepard replied before turning to leave. Stopping to look at Bethany. "If you do decide to stay, talk to your family first, then I can arrange a meeting with the Shadow Broker and see if I can get you a commission from Admiral Hackett." she said before leaving.

* * *

"Alliance control, this is _SSV Normandy_, Are we clear to descend?" Joker asked over the comm channel. Shepard, who just stepped onto the bridge, approached his chair. Joker turned to give her a confused look. "Alliance control this is _Normandy_, we're headed to Bay One Four, Zakera Ward.

Are we clear to descend?"

"What's going on?" Shepard asked.

He shook his head. "No idea. Even if there was a station malfunction, they'd have backups online," he stated, adjusting himself in his chair. "I got a bad feeling here. Checking emergency channels." Typing into the console as he spoke.

"Hey, yeah, this is Joker." he started up again after a moment. "Ah-huh. Yeah, no kidding." he responded before looking at Shepard. "Commander, there is a communication from Thane, he says it's important. I think you'll want to hear this."

"Put him through."

"_Shepard, the Citadel is under attack, Cerberus troops are everywhere and they are in control of the dock." _Thane's voice came in through the bridge.

"Are you safe?"

"_No, I had to avoid their Commandos in the hospital, I'm in a Presidium storefront."_

"Did Ashley make it out?"

"_We got separated, she said she had to protect the Council. I'm going to C-Sec Headquaters."_

"Why C-Sec?"

"_It's been compromised, and C-Sec's response depends on it. As long as Cerberus is holding the headquarters they have the station."_

"Understood. Shepard out." Shepard spoke as she looked at Joker and EDI. "Joker I want you to get us away from the docks, we'll take the shuttle in. EDI. You're Cyber Warfare. The more you can fuck with them the better. Our lovely Templar is going to be playing party leader, so the more you can sabotage for him in advance, probably the better."

"Understood Shepard," the ship agreed. "Shall I tell the Hawkes to meet you in the armoury?"

"Place the order in. We don't have time." she affirmed before leaving.

* * *

Shepard stepped off the elevator happy to see that the armoury was already active. Weapons being checked over and armour being organised and distributed to those who required it.

"Must I wear these?!" she could hear Carver shouting. "What is wrong with my own?!"

"You'd be dead in seconds if you wore that ancient armour onto the field," Vega answered him.

"Will we be here long enough to get our own armour?" Sabrina inquired. "Just one of these babies and I'll be immune to harm!" Giving an exaggerated laugh.

"We can put in a requisition order for you." Shepard said. "Probably for the lighter armour though." she waved at the armoured suit Liara was pulling on. "I can't see you or Bethany doing well in what James or I wear." for show James dropped his chest plate against the table, the echoing thud was rather loud. "For now, stick to cover, keep your distance and you be fine."

"You don't give the orders!" Carver snapped. "I'm leading this team!" He stated firmly.

"Who are you taking then eh?" she spat back.

"The person who isn't joining me on this task," Carver countered.

Shepard was stunned for a moment. Was she just kicked off her own mission? That had to be a new one.

She exhaled slowly before moving deeper into the armoury. "I'm going to try to contact Williams." she told her crew before grabbing her under suit from her locker. "And for the love of God. Take a four man team with you. I might sleep better at night."

Her fellow marine chuckled. "Will do Commander," Vega assured her giving her a salute.

Carver frowned from that action. "Don't salute her," he hissed as the muscular man. "I'm your party leader so you salute me."

Garrus' mandibles twitched. "Is he always like this so early in the day?" Posing the question to Hawke.

Sabrina paused in rummaging through Shepard's spare armour."afraid so," she answered him. "It makes morning infinitely more fucking rougher," came the additional comment.

"What's your rank?" Vega questioned Carver quickly. "I'm Lieutenant James Vega." he pressed his thumb against his chest. "Do you outrank me? If so, then maybe I'll salute you."

Carver was thrown by the man's comeback. "I'm a Templar, and I'm your party leader," he pointed out his reasoning.

"Which is pretty much base rank," Sabrina supplied. "You aren't a Knight-Corporal, or a Knight-Lieutenant...no Knight-Captain, or Knight-Commander.

Didn't they teach you ranks while going through your training?" The older Hawke teased with an amused smirk.

"You have no rank of your own!" Carver shouted back. "People still follow you!"

"Shut the _fuck_ up! All of you!" Jack snapped before pointing at Carver. "Pick your fucking team and stop being a pussy. With the way you're acting I doubt you can lead a team out of a paper fucking bag!" she prodded him in the chest once.

"I get it. You're pissed, _you just kicked the Commander off her own mission_. So you know what? There are almost two billion people on the Citadel and they will be counting on you to lead this fucking ragtag team and save them.

So are you gonna man up and do it? Or do I have to beat up you and throw you out the fucking airlock myself?"

Carver was speechless. The intensity that Jack had hit him with was stronger than even the Commander's.

"Using the same pep talk that us give to your students I see," Garrus quipped in amusement.

_And at least here she can swear to her heart's content,_ Joker added in. _The fact that she can even manage not to drop the f-bomb and not implode on herself still impresses me._

"Fine," Carver agreed after a few moments of stunned silence. "You and him," pointing to Vega. "are coming with me.

And...I suppose my sister too," he added slowly, remembering the Commander mention a four man team. He wouldn't have taken Sabrina, but considering it was either that or the darkspawn, abomination, or Shepard, he chose to go with the one he was more comfortable with.

"Garrus, Liara, Bethany. With me." Shepard spoke as she walked across the hangar again. Half dressed. "We'll take the second Kodiak in and find Williams." she looked at Carver. "If that's fine with you. Leader." she spat.

"Just stay out of our way," the Templar responded.

"Alright everyone, load up," Cortez said, as he entered into the Kodiak-Carver's team following his lead.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Stardust A/N:** I responded to whom I can who voiced concerns over the ongoings of Chapter 15. Just so you know. This story isn't written on a chapter to chapter basis. It's written as a 100+ page **mess** and we go back and chop it up for your reading pleasure. We try to be two to three chapters ahead of what's being posted and we're constantly musing about future arcs so we can appropriately foreshadow or joke about what's to come. So about the thing with Carver leading on a mission as important as Priority: Citadel II? It would go to shit. Fast. Real fast. That is why, in Chapter 15 Shepard made a second team with the sole intention of finding Ashley Williams. Why? Because you and I both know who Williams is with during this mission._

* * *

"Well you heard what Jack said Loco." James smacked Carver on the back as the Kodiak slowed to hover over the ground near C-Sec's entrance. "Almost thirteen point two million civilians are counting on you to stop Cerberus."

"I'm not unfamiliar with people depending on me," he said shaking the older man's hand off. "Templars are what separate the corrupted from the righteous."

_Alright opening the shuttle doors_, Cortez said before the conversation could go further.

Carver turned around, having slightly gotten used to the shuttle, especially after that stint with the airlock. But to see himself flying above ground rather that the night sky, it was different, more unnerving.

_"Shepard to Alpha Team_," came in over James' Omni-Tool. Making Carver jump. "_We just touched down on the other side of the Wards. Place is a mess, a lot of casualties. We're pushing on to the Embassies. Over and out." _the line went dead.

"So." Jack broke the silence. "We gonna go kick ass or let Cerberus take pot shots at us all day?"

"R-right," Carver agreed slowly at he stood at the entrance.

"Um...I think we're waiting on you to move first brother," Sabrina supplied.

"Today would be nice." Cortez leaned back in his seat. "I'd rather not be shot down."

Jack and James looked at each other before stepping forward and pushing Carver out of the Kodiak.

He yelped and landed with a thud in the ground. The rest of his team following behind him a bit more gracefully. Carver grumbled as he stood to his feet.

He found himself taken by surprise.

"Carver, move!" Sabrina shouted, as she pushed her brother out of the line of focus. "Focus brother. You're the party leader so lead!" She told him, attempting to break through his stupor.

Peeking around the corner and spotting a Cerberus soldier approaching.

Drawing the weapon she had practiced with on the ship, and taking him out with a well placed headshot. The Mattock originally had a scope but she couldn't manage with it; she did much better without it.

It was like archery except faster.

That's when Carver realised that these men, Cerberus, where not what he was expecting. He figured here it would be no different back home. Apostates, Blood Mages, thugs and bandits. Instead they were soldiers. All adorned in white, yellow and black armour similar to that of what Shepard's crew wore. All of them wearing helmets with glowing red slits for eyes.

This wasn't right. There were no swords, daggers or the accursed magic of Shepard's people.

"How are we playing this game?!" James shouted. "Full frontal?"

Full frontal? What was Vega talking about?

Wait!" Carver stumbled forward looking around. He saw both James and Jack snap to cover behind him. Vega leaning out slightly back and forth before setting up his weapon and firing off three shots.

What was this style of fighting?

"You wanted to lead kid!" Jack snapped as she took down a Cerberus soldier with her pistol. "So how's about some fucking orders!" Before tossing out a shockwave plowing several of their enemies into the air.

The shock wave caught Carver off guard missing how Vega overclocked his shotgun and knocked the bodies out of the air.

"You're a mage?!" he exclaimed in surprise and anger.

"Now isn't the time Carver," Sabrina hissed at him as she fired off more shots. "Think Carver!"

Carver's heart was pounding. Everything was moving so quickly around him; just like at Ostagar...only much much faster. Smoke and fires littered the field. Explosions came from seemingly all directions. Heavily armoured men approaching him were the only things he understood on this Maker forsaken battlefield.

And people shouting at him. Why were they all shouting at him? What did they expect him to do?

"Fuck it!" Jack swore. "Commander Bailey is down!" she shouted at Carver before biotically throwing a trooper over the guardrail and to his death. "I'm going to go help him. Orders or not!" she jumped her cover and sprinted. Her impressive display of biotics clearing a path for her.

"Loco. We need to clear these men out. We can do it when you're playing deer in the headlights!"

"How can I when you're all yelling?" Caver shouted back as he gripped his blade tighter, having denied Shepard's offer of her weapons. "I...I'm trying to think!" He defended.

Sabrina grunted. "You're the one who said you could lead better than Shepard," she pointed out. "Better than me."

She was mocking him. He could hear it in her voice; Carver gripped his blade tighter.

Moving forward seemed like the right thing to do. Back before he was a Templar and they were fighting all over the city, they never stayed in a single position.

There was always constant movement so as not to become cornered and to get better vantage points.

"Move forward!" Carver shouted, finally finding his voice after stepping out onto the field.

"Are you fucking kidding me? That's the order?" James complained as he threw a frag grenade. "No 'focus on the ones on the left? Take out that engineer on the top of the stairs?!'" as soon a he said that, said Engineer was soaring over their heads.

Commander Bailey let out a cough. "Just...what the hell is going on?" He asked Jack as the woman patched up with some Medi-gel.

She paused to knocked a Cerberus dog off his feet before answering. "Some runt trying to do what the Commander does," she answered. "Hell I feel like we're the ones being punished instead of the other way around."

"Shit." Bailey groaned. "So she isn't here?"

"'Fraid not old man," Jack responded. "At least, not at the moment. If things get too outta control I'm calling her in," she added.

While she was "chatting" with Bailey, Hawke and Vega were trying to hold their position. After Carver's brief set of orders, the man had taken back to cover; remaining silent.

Well perhaps silent wasn't the word considering his rapid breathing.

He needed to pull himself together, get through this, he couldn't let Shepard win this bet, if it could be called a bet. Now, what would Sabrina... no... what would Knight-Captain Cullen say in a situation like this? They were being flanked, they were cornered, and the men had weapons he was not used to.

But mages fought in a similar way...with powers that templars did not have, and yet they still adapted.

With that thought in mind, his resolve was strengthened, and he found his strength. Without warning, he emerged from his hiding spot, after he had picked a target. He charged toward his enemy head on, sword drawn.

"Loco! What the hell are you doing?!" Vegan demanded to know, as a grenade landed near him. He quickly picked it up and chucked it back in the direction that it came from-hearing several pain filled cries as it exploded as well as the clattering of weapons on the ground.

Jack frowned as she fired off a warp in his direction-tearing about several soldiers that Carver gave no indication of seeing. "After this is over, remind me to kick Shepard's ass for this," she shouted, as she continued clearing a path for the templar.

"You'll have to beat me to her Ink," the marine quipped, as he mowed down soldiers off to their left. "I mean, this is just some cruel punishment. Totally not good for morale."

Sabrina chuckled, as she fired off on Cerberus soldiers who were up in the rafters; alternating between them and covering their flanks. She had gotten a little taste of their fighting style when they went to rescue Jack-it was improving the longer she stayed out on the field.

While she was nowhere near either of her two companions fighting abilities-when it came to all the weapons, and being used to all the information moving inside her helmet, and whatnot-she was able to hold her own. "Hey, no complaining you two," she chided them. "I'm the one who's had to live with him my whole life. Be thankful you're only having to deal with his presence for a few hours," she added, as she advanced along the field. The Cerberus agents weren't as thick as they were when they started.

"I should have stayed with the kids." Jack grumbled as she reloaded her shotgun before shooting a trooper in the back. Bailey was using his pistol and just firing to keep the men away from him when Jack couldn't. "But I understand now why Shepard said bring a team of four, we'd be dead by now if it was just three."

"I see." James chuckled as he watched Carver try to slice through a Centurion, wasn't working, it was amusing really. "Shepard already knew he was a dead weight, but she probably didn't count on..." he paused... thinking about the message Shepard had relayed earlier. If anything, she wasn't heading to the embassies, it was a long ass way from the Lower Wards to the Embassies, she was storming C-Sec from the other side.

"_The Commander is on her way."_ he quickly relayed over their comms, Carver never took one.

The rogue tilted her head. "I'm still not used to that," she confessed, referring to having a voice come alive in her ear at any moment. "It makes me think someone is right next to me."

The soldier chuckled. "Don't worry Lola, it takes time for everyone to get used to it," he said as he moved forward, switching out for a heavy weapon.

Carver made a sound of frustration as his sword wasn't cutting through. He withdrew it and jumped back; having to quickly scramble for cover as the soldier lifted his weapon and began firing at the male Hawke.

"Why isn't my sword cutting through?!" he asked aloud in frustration to himself. The blade was sharp, and his form had improved tremendously through his training; so, he saw no reason that his opponent shouldn't have been sliced clean in two. Instead it was just making scratches and dents on their armour, as if, the metal was stronger than steel.

"Has the thought occurred to you." James huffed as he beat one of the last troopers down with the butt of his shotgun. "That metal swords... are... outdated?" he turned and blasted the soldier's head off with the roar of his gun. "Monomolecular blades, and Omni-Weapons are really the only weapons that work against armour." he pointed at Carver's sword. "Your overgrown kitchen knife might be able to cut a man's head clean off, but that's about it."

The templar huffed. He'd show that moving mountain that his sword was not outdated, he had the strength of the Maker on his side. He just had to figure out a plan of attack.

Cautiously, the two Cerberus soldiers moved in on Carver's hiding spot. But he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice. It was only when their shadows were towering over him did he take notice of them.

"Damn it Loco!" Vega shouted in frustration. Even if he fired off rounds they'd still have a bullet through the kid before he could pull the trigger; the same with Jack and her biotic attacks.

Carver gasped, he felt his entire body freeze up as he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. "_Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow. In their blood the Maker's will is written,"_ he chanted trying to give himself strength.

The two men never got to pull the trigger however. A sickening squelch was heard as their heads snapped back, weapons clattering to the ground; seconds later, their bodies followed. This surprised him. He was set to say it was the Maker's hand...and then he noticed his sister, with bloodied daggers in hand.

"Well, I think that's all of them," Sabrina commented as she surveyed the field. It was littered with bodies and broken rubble, but she didn't see any of their enemies moving nor did she see more coming. "Thank the Creators," she breathed out as she wiped at her forehead with her arm, removing the grime and sweat.

She must have snuck up behind them. Carver frowned. "I did not need you help sister!" he shouted at her, quickly rising to his feet. "I could have taken them on my own just fine! Your interference was _not_ needed!" he snarled.

"It was!" James shouted as he pulled the two of them apart. "If your sister wasn't there you'd be paste on the ground!" he pushed Carver so he was facing him, now it made sense to why he infuriated the Commander like so. "Get your shit together and act like a goddamn soldier!"

The shorter man slapped at Vega's hand. "I don't need you telling me what I should be!" he hissed in response. He got enough of that from his sister's companions before he had become a templar; before them he got it from the other people and children of Lothering.

They all wanted him to be a certain way, constantly comparing him to his eldest sister. He was not his sister, and he did not want to be anything like her; ironic all things considered.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, gaining their attention. "Knock it off you two or so help me I'll kick both your fucking asses. Let's just clear Cerberus out of here. The faster we do that, the fast we get away from the wailing pup over there," gesturing toward Carver with a jerk of her hand. "And you claim to be a fucking leader. I didn't see you leading jack shit."

Bailey pulled himself to his feet. "I can agree to that," and it was unclear if he meant clearing out Cerberus, or Carver's "leadership" abilities. "I can get us inside...so long as no one tries to stop me with a bullet again," he joked, he keyed in the code as everyone gathered around him. Carver tried to push his way to the front but Jack turned around and physically pushed him down the stairs.

"You lost your fucking chance." she snapped as the doors opened, James slowly going in with his rifle up. "Until we rendezvous with the Commander, we're taking charge."

The golden eyed male seemed to make a move to challenge, but was frozen in his tracks by Jack's icy glare. "I'm warning you kid," she began, body glowing blue. "I'm not as patient, or forgiving, as the Commander.

Hell, I would have killed you back at Grissom for the shit you're pulling now," she stated. "Especially if it had gotten one of my kids killed. So I suggest you get to the back of the fucking line and try and stay out of the adults way."

"Here we go," Bailey said, taking Jack's attention away from Carver. "C-Sec network access, courtesy of Cerberus," taking a sit at the desk and beginning to type into the computer.

James walked a little further into the room, inspecting to make sure no hidden Cerberus Operatives were lurking about. "How's that gonna help?" he asked, turning to face the man after he was satisfied that it was just them in the room.

"Cerberus has control of the main channels, but I can set up a new one," the C-Sec captain answered, as he continued typing. "Without it, our people have no plan and no chance. Oh. Hello," he said when he found something interesting.

"What you got?" James asked as he lowered his weapon, Bailey looked up at the marine. "A warning from Councilor Valern. He's supposed to be here, meeting with the Executor." he leaned in at the terminal slightly. "This move might provoke retaliation." he quoted, sounding unnerved. "Well that's a fucking understatement, if he's inside, he's in trouble. You said the Commander is coming, right?"

"Probably." James waved him off. "But why would the Councilor be meeting with the Executor?"

"It means someone big is going down." Jack explained. "Probably some jerkoff has Cerberus friends here."

"Exactly." Bailey agreed. "The Council could give us a bigger picture, for all the good that would do us."

"Who the hell put together that security detail?!" James snapped

"Well an hour ago this place was as safe as it got. Nobody expected this on this scale!" Bailey snapped back. "We need to find the Councilor and get him out of there. He'll know more about who's behind this. The Executor's office is defensible, he might have gone to ground when the shooting started." he told the two. "I say, find Shepard, and get that Councilor out of there."

"We're on it," Jack said as she started to head out.

"Just a sec," Bailey called, stopping the biotic in her tracks, as he summoned his Omni-Tool. "There. Now we can talk by Omni-Tool. Go."

The psychotic biotic signaled for the others to follow her...only one of them doing so reluctantly.

"I'll take point," she announced as she led them to the second door that would take them deeper into the building. "Hawke, you take center, and Vega watch our six," came the orders, before her gaze landed on Carver. "As for you puppy..." trailing as she picked up a spare pistol off the ground. "Time for a weapon upgrade as she jabbed it into his stomach. Try not to get shot."

"Thane." James pressed against his ear piece. Shepard having linked them all together through the team's network before running off to 'Find Ashley'. "You hear all of that?"

"_Yes, I'm nearing the building, but running is difficult."_ Thane sounded winded, James couldn't blame him. "_I'll try to get to you, or Shepard, whoever I find first."_

"We need to keep moving." Vega told Jack. "Cerberus is probably still in here."

"You want me to use this?" Carver snapped. "There is no way I am using your magical weapons."

"Then pick a crawl space to hide in because I am not babysitting your ass!" Jack shouted before going through the door first, with Hawke following behind her-imitating the woman's moves, checking her surroundings. James had to shove Carver along because the younger man wasn't moving. "Because wake the fuck up. You're in our world now. Not yours."

"Just do what you did in the last fight Loco: hide," he jabbed at the shorter man. The ground shook as Jack had fired off a warp at two Cerberus guards who were standing, backs turned, to the opposite door.

Her greeting gaining the attention of their comrades who were also in the room.

"Get to cover!" came the shout from the troopers as Vega and Jack started picking them off one by one while maintaining their distance, using that staircase to funnel them in into range and scope. Grenades and biotics brought down the Guardians while several well placed shots brought the Engineer down before he could drop his turret. There was about eight men in total.

"I think we're clear." James said. "Keep moving, but take it slow."

"They seemed to be dug in here," Sabrina observed as they moved to inspect the rest of the area, better safe than sorry, as well as to scavenge.

_I can see them through the cameras. They're all over the station_, Baliey's voice rang through her earpiece causing her to flinch. Yep, she still wasn't used to that.

Carver was the first to notice an officer. "This person...is dead," he said slowly, noticing how the back of their head was blown open. Blood and brain matter pooled around their unmoving corpse.

Vega grunted. "Damn. They were shot in the back of the head," he commented as he leaned down to further inspect the wound. "They were taken by surprise. Those bastards had traitors on the inside."

Jack frowned. "Not surprised, they love their little sleeper agents," she said as she picked up a few ammo clips. "Now, let's keep moving."

"We need to bypass those doors first." James said as they stopped at the lock. "Damn, if Shepard was here she'd blow through the lock in a couple seconds." he slammed his Omni-Tool against the holographic lock to try to get it to override with the programs he had. It took a couple tries, several too many for his liking, but he got through in the end.

When the doors opened, Jack made a sound, the sprinklers were going off, flooding the rooms and soaking the floors. A well placed overload could probably fry anyone with the amount of water falling.

"I see some Guardians ahead." Jack looked at Hawke. "Can you do your little Shadow Strike thing? Take them out before they become a problem?"

The rogue smirked. "No problem," she said before putting the gun away and drawing her blades before literally vanishing from sight.

"I could have..." Carver began but was quickly silenced by the looks both Vega and Jack gave him. He cast his eyes to the floor, like a scolded child.

It wasn't long before the Guardian took a sharp inhale before his body was carefully lowered to the ground. Another quiet gasp and the second one had been taken down; she figured while she was at it, she might as well take down the remaining two soldiers.

She started with the Engineer since he was closest to her, before carefully making her way to her final target. Staking him like prey, her sea green eyes shining as she drew closer to him; he never knew what happened.

With that done, she rounded the corner and headed back to her group. "I think got all of them," she announced, successfully startling Shepard's companions.

"Damn, you stealthy bitch." Jack commented. "That means we have a clear shot to the elevator then." she looked at Vega. "Can you raise Shepard?"

"The line's dead." James shook her head. "We'll find her when we find her."

"Why do we need her?" Carver snapped. "Ever since we got to this Maker forsaken place it's been Shepard this, Shepard that. Can't you people do _anything_ without that Apostate?"

Vega looked at him and responded dryly, "I don't know. Can you step onto the battlefield and not expect your sister to come and save your sorry ass?"

Carver growled at him. "I told you I had everything under control!" he insisted in a hiss, baring his teeth. "I did not need help!"

"Keep telling yourself that Preachy," the latino remarked, completely unconvinced. "We rely on Shepard because she'd dependable and can do things others can't. It's called having leadership and loyalty, two things I expect to be completely foreign to you," the marine added, as he rested his gun on his shoulder.

"Shepard's humanity's first SpecTRe, she's saved the Council once before." Jack explained as they moved down the hallway to the elevator. "I was once told that back in 2183 she was Hackett's go-to girl every fucking time the Fifth Fleet had a problem. It was a... shit, the power's cut." she looked at the closed elevator doors. "There must be a power supply somewhere."

By the time she started looking around James had jumped through a broken window and was fiddling with something, the elevator doors eventually opening on their own when they got the power back online. They filed in and Jack punched the button.

"_Any survivors?" _Bailey came in over the comms, James raised his Omni-Tool.

"None yet."

'_Damn it, keep looking."_

"Magic," Carver spat as he placed his hand on the elevator wall, to keep his balance. He was unused to such quick movement. "It's practically in everything here. Moving rooms, strangely armoured men, magical weapons..." he listed off growing angrier at each additional thing he added to the list.

"They're just...different from us," Sabrina pointed out, as she listened to the sound of the elevator pulling. "There style of living probably comes from them not having magic. This," gesturing not only toward the elevator, but the Citadel in general. "Is probably how they adapted to survive."

"That does not make it right!" the younger Hawke countered. "But you have an affinity for mages, so I would not expect you to understand. You've turned from the Maker just like the rest of the world. You're apart of the reason for our blight," he accused her. "Just like their actions are responsible for their own blight. It is well deserved for their sinful ways."

"Shepard loaded us with a fucking preacher?! I'm gonna kill her!" Jack snapped as she looked at Carver. "What is all this bullshit you're spewing out? Magic this? Apostate that. Get it in your _fucking head_." she growled. "Magic. Doesn't. Exist. Here." she pushed him against his chest plate with each word. "Your goddamn God, Maker, Bitch-Who-Is-Holier-Than-Thou, can take it and shove it up her own fucking ass for all I care..."

"Shepard was the one who discovered that the Citadel and the Mass Relays were created by the Reapers back in 2183." James supplied."They are billions of years old, they probably date back thousands of cycles before the Protheans themselves."

"_Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him. Foul and corrupt are they Who have taken His gift And turned it against His children. They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones. They shall find no rest in this world Or beyond,_" Carver quoted at the slightly shorter woman, squaring his shoulders as he looked down at her. "You are suffering from your Reapers because of your actions. It is a just punishment."

"Did you eat a Bible for breakfast?" Jack questioned loudly, trying not to laugh herself. "Like fuck!"

James just stared at the Templar for a few long moments. The elevator arriving at their destination as he drew his weapon. "I really hope we find the Commander soon," he stated, stepping out first. "I don't think I'll be able to take much more of this."

The rogue let out a sigh. "Welcome to my world," she commented as she followed him, making sure to be aware of her surroundings. Though, she was learning that if a lead spotted an enemy, she would hear bullets to let her know she needed to get to cover or the like.

"You mock what you cannot understand," Carver countered as she followed after Jack, choosing his sword over the gun she had given him earlier. He would not use magic-what he stood against-simply because he was faced with a challenge when using his sword. He would prevail without magic.

"Mock what I can't understand?" Jack turned on Carver. "_Welcome to fucking reality._" she told him. "This isn't _Dungeons and Dragons_. This shit is very much real, and apparently too much for your non-existant brain to fucking comprehend!" her biotics flared once before she turned down the hallway, the place was empty and the doorway at the end was jammed, too pissed off to even look for a way around or a manual override, she just blasted it apart with her biotics, it wasn't as loud as the gunshots that were heard at the same time. They got lucky.

Jack and James quickly traded positions, the marine taking the lead over the boitc a quick carnage shot taking out the two troopers in the hallway before pressing onwards into the next room, offices below the Executor's office.

"It's too quiet."

As soon as those words were said there was an explosion up on the upper floor, window being blown out as Cerberus bodies falling down the three storeys. Weapons were quickly trained up into that direction but lowered when they saw Shepard and her team looking down at them.

"Damn, don't you look like shit." Shepard commented.

"Shepard I should shoot your ass for even letting the runt here take charge," Jack said, when she saw the Commander. "And then he's a religious bastard on top of it!"

James nodded in agreement. "Loco just hid behind cover the whole time we were trying to get to Bailey. The only order he managed to give was, 'move forward'," he informed the SpecTRe. "He actually attempted to take on a Cerberus dog using his sword. Would have gotten his brains blown out if it hadn't been for his sister coming to save him," he told her.

Shepard shook her head as jumped down, using her biotics to soften her fall as the others turned around to use the stairwell. "Well well, Carver." she brought back that tone of voice as she slowly made her way up to the Templar. "You said you could lead my team better than I could, by the looks of things, someone would have ended up dead if it wasn't for their sister."

"I should still put a bullet through you Shepard." Jack snarled cutting Carver off. "Zealots like him have no place here, he was quoting the fucking Bible! Or whatever the fuck it is!" she pointed at him. "I got kids who believe in God, and I don't give two fucks if it's Jesus or Zeus or goddamn Buddha! But to think for even a second he can stop in the middle of a _goddamn firefight_ and _pray_ he's got another thing coming!"

"Did...did he really do that?" Liara inquired as she made her way to the group, with Garrus and Bethany following behind her.

"That's about as much as he's done the whole time," James answered. "I mean he literally charged straight at Cerberus goons and didn't even take into account the field. We had to lay down fire so the _pendejo_ didn't end up dead," giving a scoff. "Even Bailey's tempted to shoot you for this Commander."

"I would have made it out just fine!" Carver snapped, drawing the attention back to himself, not that it had ever left. "As I told your people, my sister's interference wasn't needed." Upset because once again he was finding himself in Sabrina's debt, as well as in her shadow.

"Really?" Shepard held out her hands. "So how was it? Fighting those Cerberus Troopers? Not quite like the _Darkspawn_ back home eh? A little harder to kill, ain't they?"

"Commander, we can stand here all day and bicker, but we need to get to the Executor's Officer, find Councilor Varlen." Garrus cut off the conversation, Liara and Bethany nodding in agreement. Shepard took a step back, moving her head slightly.

"You're right." she agreed. "You four stay down here, see what you can find on the terminals." she nodded over at the office desks. "We'll just be a minute." she turned her team around back up the stairs.

"Alright, you heard the _leader_," Jack began, emphasizing the word while looking over at Carver. "Let's see if we can find some data," she said, before pointing at the Hawkes. "Look around for anything...I don't know, interesting."

Sabrina didn't have to be told twice. She was digging the chance to explore the area around her; maybe she'd find more things to pick up. Briefly, she wondered if she'd be allowed to keep what she found, take it home and put in the trophy room of her estate.

Carver walked off, but only because he couldn't stand to be in Jack's presence any longer. She was as bad a Shepard as far as he was concerned; and, she was a mage like Shepard, which only made looking at her all the worse.

Perhaps, he could bring this to the Knight-Commander. Proof of his claims so that they could arrest Shepard when she finally returned them home?

Up on the other floor the others silently moved up towards the door to the Executor's office. Bethany hanging behind as per the Commanders orders. She watched as both Garrus and Shepard leaned up against the wall on either sides of the door as Liara moved in punching the hologram of the door so it would open before turning around, pistol raised. She did the same slowly walking backwards, 'watching their six' as they put it.

The way Shepard fought, lead her team, was much different, yet similar to how her sister did back home. The fights here we much faster and louder, it was harder to concentrate, but Shepard pulled them through, her orders quick and crisp. Not once did Bethany find herself struggling to cast her magics during the hail of gunfire.

"Bailey." Shepard called up over her Omni-Tool, there was a sigh of relief on the other side.

"_Shepard, finally." _Bailey answered. "_Remind me to kick your ass the next time I see you. Sending a preacher boy to save my sorry ass..." _Bethany turned around when the door closed, pausing at the sight, a human dead at his desk and two aliens, Liara had told them that they were Salarians earlier when they charged the wards, dead on the floor.

"Forget that." Shepard rolled her eyes. "They got the Executor and two Salarian Bodyguards."

"_Damn." _came the sigh. "_Alright, keep searching. If you don't see the Councilor's body, don't count him out just yet."_ Shepard moved slightly, seeing that Garrus was looking at something out the window. Moving up to her Turian friend both of them saw a chair move back as the Councilor Varlen flickered into view.

"Found him." Shepard answered back. "He's unharmed." she turned to look at her squad mates, signaling them to move. The moment she looked away, was when a man adorned in black silently landed on a beam just outside the window and down before the Councilor. Shepard turned around just in time to see him backing the Salarian into a corner.

"Shit!" Shepard swore loudly, lifting her Predator and shooting out the window, the sound forcing everyone into action as the assassin jumped behind Varlen as Shepard jumped out the window.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Shepard shouted as she moved in, pistol and eyes trained on the assassin.

He remained calm, as he kept his hand outstretched toward the Salarian councilor, slowly shifting around his target. Never allowing the Commander a chance for a clear shot.

"Shepard, he's going to kill us all," Varlen whispered, as his hands were in the air, eyes watching the back before him.

The redhead snorted. "That remains to be seen," she countered as she followed the man's movements; moving as he moved, keep her gun trained on him, as they danced about the councilor.

"I meant Udina," the robed salarian corrected. "He's staging a coup. He's leading them into a trap. He's with them right now to hand over to Cerberus."

The Commander cast a glance to her right when she heard footsteps. The rest of her team coming to stand behind her, weapons all trained on the black amoured assassin.

"Eight on one, what's it gonna be?" Shepard challenged him.

The asian smirked, highly amused. "Fun," he responded as he charged the blast in his hand. The councilor raising her arms to defend herself. The expanding of a weapon caught his attention.

Glancing to his left he found himself staring down the end of pistol with a drell aiming at his head. Before anyone could say anything, the assassin swung back, knocking Thane's pistol wide before they started trading punches. Shepard saw the opening and waved the Councilor over and behind all of them as Thane was flipped over the man's shoulder and onto his back. Weapons raised again when they saw that the attacker had disappeared.

"Hawke!" Shepard shouted as Thane slowly started looking around, for his target.

The intruder had cloaked himself, lowering his cloaking shield to reveal himself behind the drell, with sword drawn. He brought it down, only to be stopped by an unexpected blade.

"Now this is a type of fighting I can understand!" Sabrina quipped, as she forced the assassin back. A grin on her face as she lowered herself into a fighting stance, her enemy doing the same. "Let's see how good you really are with that thing against someone who knows how to dance it's tune," she challenged.

The assassin crouched, blade out to the side as he studied the light skinned woman. She didn't give him time to stare long before she charged, causing him to move as well; they met halfway, blades interlocking with one another.

They traded clash for clash. Blow for blow; if one landing a hit the other quick to return the favour. The longer they fought, the more their fight grew in intensity. The room became their dance floor, each using things to their advantage.

The Cerberus assassin using his cloak, only to be bested by Sabrina's skills as a shadow.

"Shit Shepard, you know how to pick em." Jack commented doing her best to keep track of the fight as the Commander slowly moved her pistol around to keep it trained on the assassin, but they were moving too quickly. Even Thane was having a hard time.

"My sister is a rogue," Bethany spoke up, not really having the same trouble that Shepard and her companions were having when it came to tracking their movements. "They are known for their speed. For the particular set of skills she's employing now...it's something like stealth but not really," she informed them, watching as her sister flipped back and got back into her fighting stance.

The assassin came charging toward her. Anger on his face at encountering someone who could battle him as such; he wanted to end her just for the sake of ending her. As he got within range of her, he suddenly vanished from sight.

Causing the Ferelden to search around for her opponent, gripping her blades tighter when she didn't see him. Unfortunately, she heard him before she caught sight of him. But it was too late; his blade coming to pierce through her chest.

"Shit! Lola!" Vega hollered out, when he saw the assassin gain the upperhand. "You bastard!" raising his gun to fire.

"Still not good enough." he said as he withdrew his blade. Watching as the body fell before suddenly disappearing in a poof of smoke. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed in surprise, standing frozen.

"I'm not that easy to kill pal," Sabrina said, appearing behind him, daggers raised to cut him clean in half. However, it wasn't meant to happen...Carver took that moment-what he had been waiting for-to charge in, sword drawn on their enemy. This was his chance. "Carver!" the rogue shouted when she saw her brother enter into the fray.

Carver moved in to swing with his massive blade. However he was too slow compared to the smaller weapons being used earlier. The assassin moved, jumping up and landing on Carver's blade like a vault before coming down on Thane. The Drell moved raising his gun to deflect the blade, his grip slipped, or the hold on the blade was changed. All Thane knew was that he was losing blood, too much blood, as the sword was pulled from his body.

"You bastard!" came Shepard's roar as she came in from the other direction, Omni-Blade's flaring to life as the man blocked her strike, the weapons grinding against each other before Shepard slipped back. "Someone give Thane some medical attention now!" she barked before ducking the swipe at her head.

Bethany moved to the drell's side. While she was no healer like Anders, she knew some creative magic; perhaps it would be enough to help the green skinned man.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, the assassin decided it was time to leave. He managed to find an opening in the Commander's attack; slamming into her stomach with his foot. It gave him just the opportunity he needed to flee.

Hopping over fallen rubble and dodging the gunshots sent his way by her team. There were angry footsteps behind him, which did not surprise him; the armoured man kept running forward, not even hesitating to jump off the ledge.

He came back up on top of a skycar. Smugness on his face as he saw the fiery look in the Commander's eyes; that feeling only growing as she fired shots at him that never landed as he was flown away.

Shepard let out a frustrated yell before turning her attention back towards her group...Carver more specifically, who was arguing with his eldest sibling.

"Had you not shouted my name I would have had him!" he snarled at her.

Sabrina had had enough, if the snarl on her own face was another to go by. Lips curled back and teeth showing, a low growl coming from her chest. "If you had just stayed out of my way he would have been dead!" she roared back, getting in the taller man's face.

"Both of you! Stop!" Shepard snapped as she pulled them apart. "Now is not the fucking time! Thane's hurt and I need to go after that goddamn assassin!" she looked at them. "So you know what? Sort out your fucking family problems right now, _all three of you_. I'm leaving to go deal with mine." she looked over at Jack and James. "I'm going to need one of you to stay behind, take them back to the Normandy, or follow me when they're done killing each other."

James opened his mouth but Jack cut him off.

"If I stay, I'll probably kill this whiny bitch just out of spite." she glared at Carver.

"Good." Shepard said as she looked over at Liara and Garrus, nodding for them to follow her. "Bailey." she raised her Omni-Tool. "Send word out. Udina's trying to seize power. There is an assassin I need to chase down before he gets to the Councilors."

"_They're being taken to a shuttle pad on the Presidium. Start driving - I'll try to raise them on the comm."_

"We should try to contact Ashley at the same time." Liara pointed out.

"Do it." Shepard responded as they walked over to the skycar. "James, keep in contact."

"Aye-aye Commander." he salute before she got into the car and flew off, watching it disappear before turning back to the bickering family and the injured Drell.

"How can you possibly be okay with this?!" Carver demanded to know glaring at Sabrina. "That for a second all of this is normal!"

"I admit its all so overwhelming," Sabrina confessed as she put her blades away. "But I am not about to condemn them for their lifestyle!"

"This's against the Maker's teachings!" Carver shouted back. "Everything here is magic! It is no wonder they are fighting a blight! To let Darkspawn and Abominations live like normal human beings!"

"Carver, you have to understand, accept." Bethany never looked up from Thane, trying her best to help him, but there was something wrong with him, something she could not heal. "Their universe, galaxy, is much larger than we can imagine."

"She's right." James added. "The Citadel is just one place, there are still the homeworlds and countless colonies."

He snorted. "That I believe, _sister,"_ spitting the word at the mage. "Filled with even more horrors undoubtedly." He then drew the gun Jack gave him.

He did not aim it, but he began to swing it around as he spoke.

"Carver, put that down," Sabrina ordered. "You haven't attempt to use it. But a you've seen it's dangerous and you could hurt somebody."

"Oh, but its perfectly acceptable for you to use it!" Carver hissed at her, swinging the weapon all the more wildly. Not really conscious that he was tightening his hold on the trigger. "I guess you just have that right sister?" More of a statement than question. He jabbed the weapon in Sabrina's direction.

"Loco, the safety is off there!" James warned as he stepped forward. At that range it will rip through the kinetic barriers and kill her outright.

"Carver, listen to Vega." Bethany pleaded.

The Templar simply gritted his teeth together. Everywhere he went someone was always telling him what to do; no one ever told his Sabrina what to do.

Somehow she always did what people would have wanted without them telling her anything. Why? Why couldn't the same happen for him?

He glared at the older woman; his eyes narrowed so tightly when it came to her. Always. Always in her shadow. His sister. Hawke. The untouchable one. The preferred one.

This time, he could feel his finger tightening around the trigger.

"CARVER!" Vega shouted, damn near in a range himself.

All he had to do was pull. That's what everyone did here. So that's all he would do. Remove his sister and when they returned home. Blame it on Shepard, then finally it would go the way he always wanted it to.

He fired the pistol, but at the same time his shot was knocked wide, the bullet cracking against the heavy shoulder armour Sabrina was wearing. Infuriated he other at the direction if his attack. Bethany had Thane's pistol raised.

"I can't allow you to do that brother." she answered coolly. "I'm sorry, I meant Templar," the mage corrected. The man before her was no longer the big brother she remembered. The golden eyed man before her was a complete stranger to her; and, a threat.

Carver didn't get a chance to do more before he felt his arm being yanked back and the pistol easily removed from his grip. "I should shoot you myself for that stunt Loco," Vega growled as he busted the younger man across the face with the butt of the pistol; sending Carver stumbling back.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Sabrina.

"Brother...Carver..." She said the words slowly, earning his attention. Her sea green eyes were misted over, and the hurt shining in them was not lost on him. "Do you...do you really hate me so much?" Her voice filled with a slicing pain as she asked him the question.

Yes, she and her younger brother fought. They'd had vicious verbal fights-with shoving and punching tossed in-but not once had a weapon ever been drawn; not once had it ever gone so far.

And the fact that her brother would intentionally seek to cause her harm-physically-cut into the rogue deeper than any blade or bullet could.

Sabrina found herself searching his face, his eyes, for an answer. "What have I done to make you hate me so?"

"Everything!" Carver spat.

That wasn't enough of an answer for James. He jerked Carver back, pulling his arm in an unnatural way, any more pressure and something would break.

"Sister has done nothing wrong." Bethany pointed out. "It is you who has done wrong."

And in his eyes, she saw that he believed his words. Her grip tightened on her own weapon; it would be so easy to put a bullet through him.

"Normally, if someone tries to kill me, I'd kill them," Sabrina stated as she looked at the Templar. "But family has never tried to end my life before and I find myself staying my hand because of that. Though I'm glad that factor doesn't stop you," she remarked sarcastically before moving over toward Bethany. "Is he alright?" Shifting focus to the Drell, putting a hand atop the kneeling woman's head.

"I stopped the bleeding before he lost too much blood, but there is something else ailing him." Bethany explained as Thane slowly moved his hand, gripping Bethany's forearm to capture her attention.

"I will be fine." He assured her. "I still have time. Go after the Commander. Help her stop Udina."

"Are you sure?" She asked of the injured man, earning a nod.

"Yes," Thane answered. "I thank you for your assistance."

James nodded before releasing Carver. Making sure he didn't have a pistol; he knew Sabrina was more than adept at protecting herself from a blade. "No more weapons for you _pinchero_," speaking to the male Hawke. "Bailey can you send us the location of the Commander?" He asked heading toward another skycar that was out in the ledge.

_"Sending the coordinates to your Omni-Tool." _Bailey spoke. _"Better hurry. The Commander is in a right mess."_

"Will do. Lets move it people!"


	17. Chapter 17

_**Stardust A/N:** I don't know if it's reality, or this story, but I've been stressed out these last few days, ever since Chapter 14. I hit breaking point yesterday morning, seriously, was an hour late for work, emotional breakdown in the lunchroom. I'm thinking it's reality rather than this story, I've just been overloaded with bullshit.  
_

_I need to get my head on straight at realize I just can't fucking please everyone._

_I love this, story, I love my Shepard just like how everyone else loves theirs. I just don't want to see this ruined, and if the only way to learn is to make mistakes, I will gladly make those mistakes. This story is still young, very young, and I don't want to ruin it's future so soon._

_One last note, OffMyLeash starts dabbling into altered lore for the Hawkes in this chapter. It is done to fit into the continuity of the story, seperate the two races of humans.  
_

_I can't wait for Chapter 18, put this goddamn mess behind us._

* * *

"_I got a fix on the Council's position. I'm sending you the coordinates now." _Bailey's voice came in over the coms, Shepard was set to respond but the assassin jumped onto the hood of the skycar. Shepard quickly reached for her Predator, shooting out through the glass as the man moved, his blade slicing through the metal and into the engine.

"Well shit." came the comment as Shepard kicked open the door and started firing at the assassin, Garrus had taken the helm and was trying to stabilize the car, but it was a lost cause. Shepard watched in anger as the assassin jumped off her car and into another being driven by some female Cerberus operative adorned in armour she had never seen before.

"Brace for impact!" Garrus shouted, pulling Shepard back in by her tactical belt just before they hit the top of a covered bridge and spiraled into the Presidium.

She must have been out for a few seconds, she could remember the impact, but she couldn't remember skidding across the tiled floor or Bailey wailing her name over and over. Eventually she kicked the door open and stumbled out, Liara, Jack and Garrus following her. Shepard held onto her forehead for a moment, trying to get her bearings straight.

"I'm here Commander." Shepard responded to her Omni-Tool while grabbing her Mattock.

"_Good, it would be a pity if you died before I got a chance to beat your ass."_ Bailey responded dryly. "_I can't raise the Council, but I still have positive readings on the transponders. Udina is still with them, if he gets them in range of that assassin, it's all over."_

"Where are they?"

"_They're heading up to the shuttle pad."_

"We're on our way."Shepard cut the line as her shields failed, having taken a shot from a Nemesis while she was distracted. Quickly snapping to cover, biotics filled the area as they started to clear a path.

"We got more of those sword wielding assholes!" Jack's shout came just as Shepard found herself tackled out of cover, a Cerberus Operative wielding a sword was on top of her. Struggling she managed to kick the woman off.

"They're reading in as Phantoms!" Garrus shouted as the Phantom charged Shepard again, sword drawn. Shepard gripped her Mattock, activating its Omni-Blade and blocking the blade with her own, before slamming a warp into the woman's face. The Phantom staggered but it wasn't enough for Shepard to run her through, blows deflected again and Shepard's kinetic barriers failed once more.

"Someone get that sniper!" Shepard roared as she suddenly felt a tug on the back of her armour, another Phantom. Tech Shields detonated in response and Omni-Weapons made their way home, killing the two attackers.

"Shepard!" Liara shouted, the Commander waved the Shadow Broker off.

"Just keep moving!" Shepard shouted. "I'll catch up!" she grabbed the Phantom's blades and set them on the back of her armour, the magnetic locks holding them in place as she quickly rifled the bodies for spare thermal clips before taking off down the Presidium.

"Over here!" Jack called out, the way to the elevators, Garrus was overriding the door, getting it open as Shepard got there, the four of them storming in and just missing the doors closing to an elevator. The assassin's smug facing being the last thing Shepard saw before punching the doors.

"Damn it!" Shepard swore. "Someone get that door open!" she pointed at the other doors.

"Commander!" James shouted suddenly, they had missed hearing and seeing the other Skycar landing. "Got room for four more?"

"Three maybe." Shepard eyed Carver. "How's Thane?"

"Tiny Wings stabilised him." James nodded at Bethany. "Bailey's taking care of him right now."

"That's some good news." Shepard looked over to see that Liara had gotten the elevator doors open. "We're almost at the end of this tunnel."

"Thank the Creators," Sabrina muttered. "I can use a few drinks," she stated.

Carver had all but destroyed her nerves over the course of the last few hours.

"You and your false gods," the Templar gripped. "Just because you know their language and call upon their false gods does not make you an elf."

"And just because you aren't cholera it hasn't stopped you from giving me that same sick feeling to my stomach," the rogue countered without even looking in Carver's direction.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Shepard snapped. Already at her wits end. No thanks to the assassin. "This isn't the fucking time for a religious political debate! You're either following me up the elevator shaft or I'm leaving your sorry asses here!"

"There is no debate," the former warrior insisted. "I'm right and she's wrong." Before moving to to the door, stopping when he didn't see the same moving room he did before. Sabrina muttered something in elven but did little else to show her irritation.

"I agree with the drinks Lola," Vega remarked, as he adjusted his weapon.

Shepard stood out in the open for a moment. Fuming before getting in and marching up to Carver.

"If I hear even one more religious bullshit from you, you damned zealot. I will let Jack here Warp your goddamn ass into the next standard galactic year."

"Now I _really_ wanna hear his religious views now," Subject Zero remarked with a smirk as she entered the elevator. "Come on runt, hit us with your Maker mumbo jumbo," she begged grinning an unnerving smile as she glowed blue and raised her fist."Because really, this isn't the place to try to enforce your views on other people."

Carver wisely-the first wise decision he'd made so far in this new world-kept his mouth shut.

"You good to go Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"Maybe." Shepard said. "Ask me later when this is over."

"I would feel a lot safer if we got into contact with Ashley." Liara pointed out. "If she's with Udina right now, she needs to know what's going on." she walked up to the doorway as Garrus and Liara scoped it out. Shepard came up, turned on her flashlight for a moment to check it out before turning it off.

"We'll figure that out when we get there." Shepard said as she jumped onto the roof of the elevator that was on the floor below. Signalling at everyone to do the same. "Okay." Shepard spoke to her Omni-Tool. "We're in the shaft."

"_Hang on it will be a fast climb."_

That was the only warning they got, the elevator started to move, everyone stumbling forward as they started to shoot upwards. "Tell me that assassin hasn't reached the council yet." Shepard spoke back

"_He's trying, but I'm making his elevator stop on every floor."_

"Nice."

The Hawkes found themselves struggling for balance on the elevator. They were certainly not used to such a contraption.

"Maker, it feels like my legs are about to give out any second," Bethany voiced as she drew her staff and used it for support.

Sabrina groaned. "It reminds me of those dreams I have when I'm falling," as she leaned against Garrus. "How can you stand being on this...this thing?" she asked of all that hailed from this lifestyle.

Carver staggered, lowering himself down onto one knee to keep his balance. "_Oh Maker hear my-_" He was stopped when Jack just pushed him, he fell flat on his stomach.

"On your feet, fucktard." Jack snarled.

"Found our friend!" Shepard shouted as her's and Liara's weapons pointed straight up to an elevator above them.

"_Kill his elevator! There is a power cufflink beneath it!"_

"Mark!" Shepard shouted, she and Liara fired at the same time and the elevator to the right of them plummeted downwards. "Perfect."

"Good riddance." Garrus sighed as he helped Sabrina and Bethany onto their feet.

"_Incoming Phantoms_."

The warning had barely been given to them before a Phantom hopped onto their elevator, before a second elevator pulled up beside them.

"Shit!" Vega cursed, not liking being so close to the Cerberus soldier, as he stepped back to get away from her; Hawke catching his arm before he accidentally fell off the side of the elevator

"Grab onto something!" Shepard barked the order, most of the squad opting to grab onto whatever exposed metal they could find. Shepard detonated her Tech Shields, the force of the blast throwing the Phantoms off their elevator and down to their deaths, saving them from a rather sticky situation, but it wasn't enough to stop the other elevator from catching up and Cerberus blasting out the window with their guns. Most of them snapped to cover, others, like Carver, stayed glued to the ground. Three quick gunshots, followed by three quick headshots cleared out the troopers.

Their elevator continued on, now that their threat was taken care of.

"_Shepard, bad news,_" Bailey began.

"Is there any other kind?" the Commander responded.

"_That hitman has overridden my controls. He's on his way up. I can't stop him."_

Jack scoffed. "Well that's fuckin terriffic," she said.

Garrus smirked. "Happy to be swearing in front of mature company?" he teased. "Going to enjoy it while it lasts?"

"Fuck yeah."

It was a few seconds before they lined up with another elevator. There were too many of them to all go at once. "I'll lead!" Shepard shouted. "Follow me afterwards!" she barked before jumping elevators. The moment she hit the other one there was a pause before the sound of bullets punching metal could be heard. Shepard quickly leaned backwards, almost falling off as two more tore through were her hand was just seconds earlier. Quickly she rolled away before waving at the others to jump over, the elevator she was on was slowing to a stop.

* * *

"Everyone go!" Ashley shouted as she ushered the council from the elevator.

Gun still trained upward at the ceiling.

Once they were out she followed. The group sprinting down the hall and outside. She stopped in we tracks when she saw the state of their escape.

"Damn it," she breathed out as she took a few steps forward. "Cerberus hit the shuttle. Everybody back to the elevator," came the order as she turned around.

Only to come face to face with the Commander and her team.

"Skipper?" Ashley asked loudly and in surprise. "What's going on?"

"It's Udina!" Shepard snapped as she nodded at her crew to lower their weapons. "He's trying to seize power!"

The man in question slowly lowered his hands when Ashley moved to block Shepard's gun. "Shepard's blocking our escape," he pointed out the obvious. "She's with Cerberus," came the insistence.

"Everybody, hang on," Ashley spoke over her boulder at the council. "Shepard, what's going on here?"

"I'm trying to save your lives that's what." Shepard looked at the elevator behind her. "There is an assassin waiting for you on the other side of those doors. I have done everything in my power to slow him down."

The blue armoured woman shook her head. "I knew the old Shepard, before Cerberus," she remarked, gun still trained on the Commander. "Right now I don't know who I'm dealing with."

Shepard cast a glance at her companions-they were all cued to her body language; minus Carver. She forced herself to come out of her fighting stance; putting an arm out to the side in from of Jack's weapon, a sign for her to lower it.

The biotic did and Sabrina followed suite.

"I am still that Shepard." she tried to reason. "Why would I choose now of all times to start lying Ash? You know I am better than that." she pointed out slowly. "Don't you remember what I told you back on the SR-1?" she asked. "If I want something from the head I'd go to Alenko, if I wanted something from the heart-"

"You'd come to me." Ashley finished.

"So tell me Ash, what is your heart telling you?"

"We've mistrusted Shepard before," the Councillor Tevos stated. "It did not end well."

Udina scoffed as he stood beside Ashley. "You don't have any proof," he spat. "You never do," before turning and heading over to a terminal. "I'm overriding the locks," came the announcement.

Ashley sighed. "I'm gonna regret this," she said before turning on the Councillor.

"Udina! Step away from the console!" she shouted at the human Councillor. The ignored her as Shepard reached for her own weapon.

"Are you mad?!" Carver roared. "The man is right! These abominations shouldn't be allowed to live!" Gesturing toward the two councillors.

Jack reacted first. Spinning on the ball of her foot and pistol whipping the male Hawke straight across the face.

He actually collapsed from the force she hit him with; he felt something warm trickling from his mouth. He licked at the corner of his mouth with his tongue and wasn't surprised to taste the coppery taste of blood.

"Kid I think I liked you slightly better when religious bullshit was coming out of your mouth," Jack commented, standing over at the fallen Templar. "I'd believe in whatever higher powers exist before I'd ever believe that Cerberus is in the right about _anything_."

"Shepard." Sparatus asked loudly. "If you say you're not Cerberus, why do you have a sympathizer with you." he pointed at Carver. Leaving Ashley torn, wondering if she made the right choice now.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Williams shouted.

"This Cerberus is right." Carver declared. "Why fight against them when they are the ones trying to do the right thing?"

"You see? Shepard spouts lies!" Udina proclaimed. "This entire attack on the Citadel was played by her hands," he insisted, as he went back over to the terminal.

"Not so fast gramps," Jack said training her pistol on the human councillor.

Her action getting Ashley to train her gun on the biotic. "Lower your weapon," the blue armoured SpecTRe growled, as she moved to stand in Jack's line of fire.

"Ashley." Shepard said slowly. "Udina is twisting the truth." she held her hands out. Seemingly unarmed. "He is the enemy here. Councillor Valern can confirm. We saved his life." Ashley's line of fire changed to Shepard as they slowly started to circle each other.

"I still believe Commander Shepard is telling the truth." Tevos said. "We owe her this much."

"I can't just trust you." Ashley shook her head "I need to know the truth, can you prove it?" Ashley asked, Shepard shook her head.

"I can't." Shepard answered. "But think Ash, if I was supporting Cerberus, would my friends be standing behind me right now?" she asked. "Would Jack, President of the Cerberus Hate Club be standing by my side?

Don't listen to Carver, don't listen to Udina, what does your heart say?" she asked the same question again.

Ashley was silent for a moment. A long moment; weighing her next decision carefully.

"Okay..." The younger SpecTRe spoke to herself. "_It's hard to ignore the way a person's heart feels even though the mind knows logic. In the end whether a person listens to the heart or the mind they still end up sacrificing something._

I'm not going to sacrifice you Commander," she stated. "Not after you've sacrificed so much to save trillions of lives."

"Thank you Ash." Shepard said as Udina soon found both Ashley's and Jack's pistols trained on him.

"To hell with this!" Udina shouted as he stormed back to the console hitting for an override. Tevos moved to stop him but he pushed her back before drawing a gun.

"Gun!" Ashley shouted

Carver growled. "And you bring another over to the darkness," he spat as he reached behind him.

Shepard kept her eyes trained on Udina. She didn't hesitate when she put a bullet through his heart; killing him instantly as his body collapsed onto the ground.

She did find it odd that there was another thud...and it came from behind her.

"Shepard!" Ashley shouted when she turned around, the redhead turned to see Bethany hovering over Sabrina and Carver holding a pistol. It didn't take much to put two and two together.

"Jack." Shepard growled waving at the Hawke family before walking over to Udina's body. "I want that door covered and the Council protected!"

Ashley and Liara nodded while Garrus and James moved to cover Tevos and Sparatus.

"Lights out runt," Jack growled as she charged her fist before hitting Carer across the face. He was out cold as he slumped to the side.

"I'm fine Bethany," Sabrina panted out as she clutched at her side. "Really," came the insistence as she pushed herself to her feet, using the mage for support.

All guns were trained at the door that was being forcefully opened with a blowtorch. Eventually, the people on the other side made it through as the door was being forced open. Fingers ready to pull back on the triggers, to unleash a hail of bullets upon...

"Bailey?!"

"Made it as fast as we could Shepard." Bailey said as he holstered his weapon, looking around. "Looks like you took care of things."

"Then it was true." Tevos said. "We were in danger, but..." she looked at Shepard. "You said Cerberus was right here."

"Cerberus was right here, but they beat feet into the Keeper Tunnels when they figured we were coming." he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry Councillor, but I will say it plain. Shepard just saved the lot of you."

"Then you have saved our lives twice now Shepard." Sparatus said. "We are forever in your debt."

"What's done is done." Shepard waves him off. "There are more things to worry about." she looked at them. "Am I safe to say that you are finally on board with my request?"

"We will do our best." Tevos answered. "But I must ask, why would Cerberus do this?" Shepard shook her head. "Then who is that boy you have with you?"

The Earthborn let out a heavy sigh. "Trust me councillor, you _don't_ want to know," she told the asari. "You _really_ don't."

* * *

Leandra watched as the airlock to the Normandy opened up, the first thing she saw was Jack dragging her unconscious son in and down the CIC back to the elevator. Either Medical Wing or the Brig.

"EDI." Shepard was the next one in, flustered. "Tell Doctor Chakwas to prep the Med Bay. We got wounded!"

"Bethany," Leandra called to her youngest. "What happened?" Golden eyes showing concern.

The Mage opened we mouth to speak, trying to find the words.

"Shit happened that's what!" James snapped as he was in next, Garrus, being the tallest, was carrying the wounded Sabrina. "Your son!" James growled pointing in the direction Jack had left. "Screwed us all over! Nearly got the Council, Shepard and Williams killed! Then to boot! He shot your daughter!"

"What?!" Leandra snarled to viciously, that Vega misstepped from the sound of it.

Bethany nodded, instinctively taking on a submissive posture. "It's true mother," she confirmed. "While I can't speak for what happened because I was with Shepard, but while we were with Vega...he wanted to shoot her mother.

He...he _wanted_ to hurt her," she explained, eyes shining.

"I...why?" Leandra asked

"We were hoping you would know." Liara said. "Has there always been bad blood between Carver and Sabrina?"

"They've always been rivals," Leandra confessed. "But that's common between siblings. But this..." she trailed, pinched the bridge of her nose, a growl in the back of her throat.

"All I can think of, is our blood," the mage supplied vaguely.

"But you're all immediate family." Liara pointed out. "How-"

"Li." Shepard stopped the Asari. "The questions can wait, Hawke needs to be stabilized. I need to file a report and then go back and find Williams. Not to mention we still haven't found Alex Garneau yet."

The Shadow Broker gave a nod. "Of course," the Asari conceded.

"Shall I notify you if when Carver regains consciousness Commander?" EDI inquired, as the Commander and Garrus headed toward the elevator.

"No, don't." Shepard said. "Just make sure he's fed. Out of sight, out of mind, I'm done with this, and now I gotta deal with the fallout."

The AI gave a nod before going to the bridge. Bethany went to her mother's side; she could feel the anger rolling off the woman in droves.

"Regardless of if he feels regret over what he did or not, I'm still going to kick your son's ass ma'am," Vega said to the mother.

"You may have to beat me to him," Leandra responded coolly.

* * *

"What's her condition?" Liara asked as the three women plus James made it into the med bay. Shepard having gone off to file her report. "I'm hoping he didn't fatally wound her. Otherwise Shepard might just use the airlock for real this time."

"She's stable," Chakwas answered. "He didn't hit anything vital...at least, I do not believe so, else her condition would not be so pleasant."

"What do ya mean doc?" Vega questioned, looking at the older woman.

"Her physical structure...there are, differences, things the average human should not have." came the explanation. "Unusual to say the least."

"And there is the proof we've been looking for." Liara said as she looked at Chakwas. "May I see the scans?"

Vega looked confused. "Proof?" He echoed before shifting his eyes to the broker. "What do you mean Doc? You know, Asari Doc," he amended seeing as how he got Chakwas' attention with his words.

"When we first landed on their planet, we thought their evolution was part of the Reaper's game." Liara said. "We probably took it a little too far, in hindsight; but over the little while we came to a theory of sorts.

They are a surviving races of civilized organics from a previous cycle. Before the Protheans at the least."

"That's...a rather tall order Doc," Vega said after a few moments of silence, casting his gaze at the two Hawke females who were observing Sabrina. "I mean, info on the Protheans is rare enough, but to go even beyond them..."

"I have to agree with Vega," Chakwas voiced. "However, I am also inclined to believe there is some truth to her. Basic human anatomy has been the same for generations," she pointed out. "Minus the introductions of implants being added to the system, all humans are alike in that way, and yet I stumbled across differences when treating Hawke."

"That is the reason why we brought them along to aid us with Doctor Bryson's research." Liara said. "Shepard said she found similar signatures with an artifact in the lab. It might be connected to their original cycle."

The two Hawkes stayed silent. Neither confirming or denying T'Soni's theory; as that was all it was after all.

Chakwas handed over the scans for Liara to see. "Fascinating," the blue skinned female muttered.

"How long until she wakes up?" Bethany inquired of the grey haired doctor. Shifting her attention to the medical doctor.

"She's just asleep." Chakwas said. "If anything she's wake in the morning, it's been a long day for everyone. It's nothing to worry about."

The pair nodded, and took respective seats. If they planned on staying the the medbay, it was unclear; time would tell on that one.

"L-Leandra," Liara called earning the mother's attention. The Shadow Broker found herself becoming shy beneath the gaze. "Would you mind if I asked some questions about your...species?" Struggling to find a word to describe them.

While Hawke, and her family, labelled themselves as humans, by galactic standards they were not...even though they did look like the humans of earth.

"Maybe once we've returned home." Leandra told the Shadow Broker. "I have history material that might make understanding our people easier."

"Of course," Liara agreed backing off the subject. "I'm going to go check on Shepard," she announced before handing the scans back to Karin and exiting the medbay.

"I'm going to go too," Vega said, giving a stretch. "It's time to get out if this armour. Catch about forty-winks or so," hitting them with the odd expression before leaving.

"Sister certainly has a knack for walking away from dangerous situations," the Mage said to her mother.

Leandra nodded. "A knack I am very grateful she has," she replied, before gently pushing at Sabrina head with two fingers. "Always making me worry," she sighed out.

And as if she could hear the comment, a smile came onto the rogue's lips, even though she was asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N:** __So... 100 reviews eh? Cool... cool... so, you know... OffMyLeash and I have quite a bit of explicit content archived for this story... you think... maybe it's time to move up in the world?_

* * *

"_What the hell were you thinking Commander?" _Hackett snapped, Shepard kept her head hung low. "_I expected better judgment from you, given the state this galaxy is in."_

"I let my emotions get the better of me, sir." Shepard admitted, tone flat.

"_If we weren't in the middle of a war, if I didn't need you, I would have you court-martialed and discharged." _Hackett said firmly, even Anderson was silent. "_Category Six, given your records... all of your records." _Shepard's hold of the railing grew tighter, knuckles going white as Anderson looked at Hackett.

"_That's too far, Admiral, even for you."_

"_This operation could have ended up in ruins Admiral Anderson."_ Hackett responded. "_We cannot keep playing favourites with the Commander."_ the gaze was turned to the woman. "_The rest of your actions in this war better outweigh what has happened here today, Commander. Do something like this again, and it will be a dishonourable discharge. I will see to it as well that the name you've come to identify yourself with is stripped as well. Hackett out."_

"_Talk to me Shepard."_ Anderson went sympathetic all of a sudden once Hackett was gone. Shepard shook her head. "_Shepard."_

"I let my history get the better of me, I acted like a child rather than the N7 I am supposed to be." Shepard finally responded.

"_Those actions weren't childish." _Anderson pointed at Shepard. "_That was the Tenth Street Red in you clawing it's way out. You know actions like that are not acceptable, why did you do it?"_

Shepard didn't answer.

"_It's that girl isn't it? Hawke... I saw the name in the report. Bethany was it?"_

"I don't want her to go through the same things my... well... you know." Shepard finally answered looking up at Anderson. "If Category Six is my punishment, then I will take it with stride if it keeps Bethany from living that life. Commander Shepard doesn't have to survive this war, she just needs to win it."

"_Shepard."_

"Anderson, it's done. I made a fool of myself and nearly got the Council killed, I should be damned lucky that he only threatened me with a dishonourable discharge rather than ordering me to the firing squad. _If I was anyone else..." _Shepard paced in a circle. "Even if I leave the Alliance, or get kicked out, I still have the SpecTRes and the Shadow Broker, I always will."

"_Then I'll leave you to it then, Shepard, just... try to get your head back in the game. For Earth. Anderson out."_

Shepard stood there in silence for a while. She had decided to make the call in the SpecTRe Offices rather than on the Normandy. Had everything gone to shit like she had thought it would, she would have had almost everything she needed to go on lam, find a way to bring down Harbinger on her own.

"That bad huh?" Ashley spoke up, she was standing in the hallway, she had seen the tail end of the conversation. Shepard didn't even bother to look over at her old friend. "Shepard... I... I don't know what to say."

"About the whole Udina thing or Hackett threatening me with Category Six?"

"Both, but..." Ashley paused. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around Udina, then that boy you had with you, Hawke? It made me working for Udina look like a small thing."

"He was a mistake, one I'll surely be paying for once this war is over." Shepard sighed. "All of this, could have ended badly, very badly."

"Agreed, I'm glad that most of us are still standing, given the situation that happened at the end."

"She'll recover. I think we should only care that we managed to stop Udina and walk away from it, to an extent." Shepard pointed as she finally turned to face Ashley, the woman was standing over the requisitions terminal.

"I can't believe he was responsible for all of this. Do you think he was indoctrinated?" she asked, Shepard shook her head.

"I doubt it, but it is hard to say."

"How do you fight something that can worm it's way inside your head?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know, but we don't have a choice." Shepard responded, pulling up the information terminal, scanning some of the files, authorizing a few.

"That is something I wanted to talk to you about." Ashley started. "Hackett offered me to join his team. It's a great offer, but... I'd prefer to ride things out aboard the Normandy, you always tend to find the best battles, Commander."

"Permission granted Lieutenant." Shepard smiled,. "Just... keep your gun pointed at the Reapers."

"I'd prefer it that way, just, try to stop your crewmates from shooting each other out of spite?"

"No promises there Ash." Shepard held out her hand as they shook on it. "The boy's in the brig now anyway." Ashley chuckled as she took a step back, preparing to leave. "Ash?" Shepard called out again, catching her attention.

"Yeah?"

"It's good to have you back." Shepard added finally, Ashley saluted.

* * *

"Shepard, do you have a moment?" Liara cut Shepard off just before she'd reboarded the Normandy. Liara stopped, she could see the tear stains still adorning the Commander's face, there was no doubt in her mind what had just happened.

"Yeah, what is it?" The weakness in Shepard's voice confirmed her thoughts, Thane Krios had passed on.

"A contact within Asari High Command was insistent I pass on a distress signal to you." Liara said, Shepard made the notion to let the asari walk and talk.

"Something they can't handle?" Shepard asked, Liara made a slight face.

"From what I can tell, they sent several commando squads to of them returned." they walked through the CIC. "They didn't ask me directly." she admitted, proving to Shepard that Liara found this through her network. "But I think...High Command is hoping you might help."

"What's your take on this?" Shepard asked, Liara chuckled.

"That they wouldn't ask the _Shadow Broker to pass it on to Commander Shepard_ if it wasn't important." she crossed her arms. "Glyph has uploaded the coordinates to the Galaxy Map. I'll try to figure out what's going on in the meantime."

* * *

"How are they holding up?" Shepard asked Leandra as she crossed the mess. The older woman waiting outside the Med Wing and watching in through the window. The sisters were sharing the bed together. Bethany curled up in her sister's lap; the pair were nuzzling against one another. The gesture and position almost intimate.

"They are coping," Leandra answered, as she watched her daughters.

"You're their mother." Shepard looked at Leandra. "I just got a request from the Asari High Command. Throwing me off my Alex Garneau search again. I was wondering if your daughters would be willing to visit an Asari Colony."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind," the older woman responded as watched her daughters.

"I've been meaning to ask." Shepard made a gesture at the two. "What is up with the cat-like affection between the two of them eh? I never had a pet cat, but I've heard stories."

A smirk came onto the golden eyes female. "Liara wonders the same thing. It drives her up the wall," she remarked in amusement. "But it is within our nature, our very blood," she added.

"That is all I need to know." Shepard said. "I'm no scientist like Liara. I'll ask Doctor Chakwas if Sabrina is clear to leave. It's only been a day, and it was her first gunshot wound."

"Are you trying to join in on the affection Shepard?" Came the curious question. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you wanted to .I know your pilot has expressed an interest in joining them," Leandra added.

"No, not in that context." Shepard raised her hands in defence. "I'm with Liara, and I highly doubt things would go well for me if I tried something like that."

"It's not sexual," the mother stated. "But...perhaps it is uncommon here?" More question than statement.

"I haven't seen Carver jumping for a chance."

A sigh escaped the older woman's lips. "Can you believe he used to be just as close and affection with them as they as to each other?" She informed the redhead. "But it's not uncommon for males to withdraw when they reach adolescence. They become more aggressive because they attempt to be..." Trailing as he searched for a word.

"The alpha male?" Shepard quipped. "I had people like those back on my squads before the Skyllian Blitz, would never listen to a woman." she ran her hand through her hair. "They were lucky I was just a Chief back then and not a CO, couldn't do anything about it legally, I had a terrible record by the end of it all."

A quiet laugh came from the shorter woman. "That's one way of putting it," came the agreement. "For those of our blood males are rare, because we almost always birth daughters. So the...family would be dominated by a female. As per a male's nature, it is their instinct to want to be the leader," came the explanation. "So it causes tension with the eldest. Namely Sabrina."

"I see." Shepard responded, honestly she didn't understand a thing that she was being told.

'_ETA 20 Minutes.'_ Joker chimed through the ship Shepard took a step back.

"I need to talk to Ash, see if she's good to go." Shepard sighed before walking away. "All I fucking want is to find Alex Garneau." she muttered.

* * *

Shepard stood in the shuttle bay with her squad. While Chakwas had agreed that Sabrina was fine, she did not want the eldest Hawke going on another mission so soon. Which had gotten a fuss from the rogue...until she was given cookie by Liara to behave herself.

The tattooed rogue accepted the bribe...but not before getting a dozen cookies out if the deal.

"I have to admit Tiny Wings, it's weird not seeing you with your sister," Vega commented. "It's like you two are joined at the hip."

"Yes... well." Bethany was cut off when someone backed into her. Turning around she recognized Ashley.

"Sorry." Ashley spoke, she was wearing most of her hard suit. "I can't-" she stopped when James tossed her her other gauntlet. Quickly the second human SpecTRe tied it on as looked at Bethany. "We were never formally introduced. "Ashley Williams."

"Meet Tiny Wings," Vega introduced the mage.

She gave him a look, earning a laugh from the marine. "Bethany Hawke," she introduced herself.

"I was part of the Commander's old SR-1 squad." Ashley explained quickly. "Is it true you have a rather unique set of biotics?"

"Ash!" the woman was cut off as a black metal briefcase soared across the room. The female marine catching it by the handle.

"Skipper?" Ashley looked at the one who had thrown it. Shepard smirked.

"A trade. Give Bethany one of your spare armour sets. You can keep that." Shepard pointed at the case. Even James and Bethany were curious as Ashley walked over the workbench and opened the case. She was silent for a while.

"You certainly know the Lieutenant Commander well, Shepard." Liara responded as Ashley looked up at Bethany.

"My lightweight suit is in my locker." she told the mage, pretty much dragging Bethany to her locker. Opening it and presenting her with the armour set.

"Wearing armour...it's such a foreign concept for a mage," the younger woman said as she let her hand trail over it. "That's what I am to the people of my home, a mage," she added.

"Yeah well." Ashley just placed it in her hands. "You'll still get shot at here. Mage, biotic, turian or asari." Bethany realized that Ashley just didn't care. She turned away from the youngest Hawke and back to her black case, pulling out the massive weapon.

"Damn!" Vega swore. "A Black Widow! That must have costed you an arm Lola!" he laughed as Shepard shook her head. "Wanna buy me one there Lola?" He asked the Commander. "Or maybe get in contact with the Shadow Broker," casting his eyes toward Liara. "See if he, or she, can get me one...or two."

"I'm sure the Shadow Broker is very busy with more important things," Liara responded as she helped Bethany into the armour.

"Yeah, pity I don't know them, like some people we know." the man countered with a smirk as he folded his arms over his massive chest.

Bethany gave Liara a look, remembering how Shepard had mentioned the Shadow Broker earlier.

"I had to pull strings through the SpecTRes." Shepard admitted. "Thankfully Jodham Bau was more than willing to help after that stint with the Hanar Homeworld."

"I'm confused," Bethany remarked. "What exactly does this Shadow Broker do? It's like they're in a limbo of sorts. I can't really label if they're a friend or an enemy."

There was a silence through the Shuttle Bay, all eyes turning onto Liara.

"The Shadow Broker the head of an organization that trades information." Liara explained softly. "Information is always sold to the highest bidder but all secrets bought or sold would never give enough information to put one person at an advantage.

The Shadow Broker is always the true neutral in any given situation."

"Yes." Ashley crossed her arms. "I remember what I heard three years ago. Barla Von is an agent for the Broker. He believes that in reality it is just a group of people posing as one person. For it would be impossible for one person to monitor the information and maintain his influence at the same time." Liara nodded.

"But, I don't understand. If this Shadow Broker is neutral why assist anyone at all?" Bethany questioned. "Being neutral means helping no side at all."

"As long as people are willing to pay, the Shadow Broker assists all." Liara said. "Money is power, in a sense."

The mage let out a chuckle. "I'm sure Varric would disagree," she responded. "He is the prince of the spy network after all."

"Well then Varric and the Shadow Broker would have much to talk about then." Liara said as she booted the kinetic shields to Bethany's armour. "See who has the better technique."

"The Shadow Broker has been extremely helpful in this war." Shepard said.

_Wait...Varric's a prince_? Joker asked over the intercom, always spying. _How?_

Bethany gave a shrug, not that he could see the gesture. "My sister knows a lot of powerful people.

Sebastian is prince of Starkhaven, Aveline is Guard-Captain of Kirkwall, Anders is a Grey Warden, Varric is a merchant prince among surface dwarves and commands a large spy network, and Isabela is the most feared raider of the seas and is known as 'Queen of the Eastern Seas'."

_She can also add Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel, Conqueror of the Collectors, Saviour of the Galaxy on that list._ EDI chimed._ You may thank Doctor Chakwas for that title, Commander._

Shepard laughed.

* * *

"So what are we doing for this mission?" Bethany asked as Cortez flew them to their destination.

Shepard shrugged her shoulders.

"Dig up any information on the mission, Liara?" Shepard asked their Information Broker.

"I did, and I now understand why High-Command wanted to hide it. We're headed to an Ardat-Yakshi monastery."

"Ardat-Yakshi? Like Mornith?" Shepard asked, glancing at Bethany slightly, hoping they just didn't stumble across a similar.

"Morinth chose to be a killer. These Ardat-Yakshi isolated themselves to avoid that. But that doesn't mean they are harmless. Their urge to feed can be powerful. That is why-"

"Wait." Shepard raised her hand. "Are we looking at another type of Circle here?"

Liara paused in her explanation. It never occurred to her that there were similarities between their monastery and the circle; or, that Bethany might see it as such.

"Can someone fill me in here?" Ashley shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I'm a little out of the loop, just the thirty second version."

"Bethany comes from a world where...those like her...are isolated from the general society, and put in what is referred to as the Circle," Liara explained.

"And the..." Ashley stopped her question and reworded it. "So there a similarities. I get it, kinda. But that doesn't explain why High Command suddenly decided to throw us at the problem."

"They sent in a team of Commandos and lost contact with them. They don't know if it's a revolt or the Reapers, but they would have been sent in to clean up."

"You mean kill them?" Bethany supplied, just from how Liara had said 'clean up'.

"They would have brought heavy explosives with them. Yes." was the answer. Shepard shifted uncomfortably.

"And we're sent to...kill them?" Bethany said slowly. "Shouldn't we be looking for survivors or is this similar to the Right of Annulment? Kill everyone inside because they're inside."

"That is up to Shepard." Liara looked at the Commander who had found interest in the floor.

"We save who we can." Shepard announced. "I don't need anymore innocent blood on my hands, I've already killed enough for this war." she shifted.

"But if it is the Reapers..." Ashley trailed off. Shepard sighed in defeat.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

The golden eyed Hawke turned her attention to Liara. "Liara, are the Ard-Aradak..."

"Adart-Yakshi." Liara corrected.

A nod from the Mage. "Yes, Ad-art Yakshe. Are they your people?"

"Yes." Liara admitted. "They are asari with a genetic deformity, in short. Mostly found in... purebloods... when they meld with another, they drain their partner of their life force."

"And they're sent away because if that?" Bethany asked.

Meanwhile, Shepard was apparently testing to see if she had x-ray vision with how intensely she was staring at the floor.

"I fought one of them." Shepard admitted. "Mornith. Would have died too, if it wasn't for Samara."

"My people are ashamed of them, just as yours are ashamed of people like you. The thing is..." Liara cut herself off.

"Ashamed is not a word I would use to describe the views toward those of my kind," Bethany responded.

Liara bit her lower lip. Shepard stepped between them.

"Yes, there are similarities going on here. The Asari barely speak of the Ardat-Yakashi, I myself had never heard of them until I was asked to hunt one down." Shepard explained. "They... when they kill the desire to feed becomes stronger with each causality. Left uncheck they leave an astronomical bodycount behind them. I have not heard of mages doing the same thing."

"No, we do not feed on people," Bethany agreed. "But you've also never seen a Mage when using the full extent if their powers. A city full of thousands can be wiped out writhing seconds," she told them. "It is nothing to be ashamed about. I know why people fear my kind."

"I killed an entire star system." Shepard said casually. "A city is nothing."

"Did you use the energies inside of you to do it?" Bethany challenged.

"Depends how you look at it." Shepard said. "I decided to kill them all, that is no different than you choosing to cast a spell."

Bethany suddenly fell silent, there was truth in the Commander's words.

"Arriving at the LZ Commander," Cortez announced.

Shepard looked at Bethany. "I cannot deny that there are similarities between here and the Circle. But they asari are not doing this because their religion says so. That, I believe, is the biggest difference here."

Liara nodded in agreement. "And unlike the Circle, Ardat-Yakshi are permitted to visit Thessia with supervision, because they should know their home world. Only if they have good behavior of course," she added quickly.

/So what? They just up and decide to the monastery?/ Came Joker's question over the Asari's Omni-Tool.

"Well, it is a condition that's impossible to identify until they reach sexual maturity," the scientist responded. "But by then it's too late.

Upon their diagnosis they are presented with a choice: live in isolation or be executed," she added...before what she said registered to her mind. She flinched visibly.

"You certainly put your foot in your mouth there T'Soni." Ashley said. "Still the same Doctor." she chuckled to make light of the situation as Liara stumbled over her words slightly.

"Come on." Shepard said as she got off the shuttle. "Let's just figure out the situation here before we pull out the yellow legal pad and make that pros and cons list."

Liara breathed a sigh of relief. "Agreed," she said as she drew her weapon. She wanted to say more to Bethany, but she felt she'd just be putting her foot further in her mouth.

_Bet you wanna put those words back in your mouth with a shotgun huh doc_? Joker said to the scientist.

"Commander!" Ashley called over Shepard, there was a single Skycar there. "The engine is still warm."

"So there is someone else here." Shepard said. "They might be able to shed some light on this situation."

"Commandos?"

"No, they would have come in a shuttle." Shepard answered. "Just stay on guard."

She was met from nods all around as they moved further in, weapons drawn. Though Bethany was taking time to glance around at the layout of the place; it's imposing ceilings, slightly bland design.

There were bits of it that reminded her if the Circle and bits that were completely new to her.

Shepard eventually pried the doors open and was greeted with an empty elevator shaft.

"Elevator's disabled." Liara pointed out. "To prevent entry or escape. I wonder."

"Just stay quiet." Shepard turned the flashlight on her gun on. "We'll figure this out." she disappeared into the shaft, they could see the flicker of light and the sound of her climbing down a ladder.

Then out of nowhere a spine tingling scream filled their ears.

"Maker what is that noise?!" Bethany asked as she grimaced; giving her hearing it was almost as if the sound had been made right next to her.

Another scream followed by a...whistling sound.

Liara cocked her weapon. "It doesn't sound good," she replied as she got ready, eyes scanning the field.

"Stay sharp." Shepard said as they climbed out of the shaft into the next room. It was dark and in ruins. Slowly Shepard move around, flashlight moving back and forth in hopes of catching something.

"What was that?" Liara asked, having heard something.

"I didn't hear anything." Ashley responded as they kept moving. The second SpecTRe eventually kicking something, a bottle by the sounds of it, across the floor. Shepard froze. "That was me." Ashley admitted sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Get your drinking problem under control Williams," Shepard teased.

"Yeah yeah." Ashley waved Shepard off as she came across a PDA left on the table. She picked it up.

_Tolae, you won't believe what Yanis managed to smuggle in: a copy of Vaenia! Meet us after supper in the library. Bring some study work. Rila's floor warden tonight, so act natural. We'll be by the east video banks. This is going to be so great. See you there! Oh, and delete this once you listen to it. Not like last time! _the message ended.

"Damn." Ashley muttered. Looking around. She could see the glow of the Commander's Tech Armour as she stood before a console, reading a message.

"Bethany." Shepard asked as she closed the console. "Did they limit your free time in the Circle? Always had you under supervision?" she knew asking about the extranet was pointless, the youngest Hawke still didn't know how to use it.

"We had 'free time' though I use the term loosely," the younger woman responded. "We are always under watch. It doesn't matter if a Templar is 3 paces or 20 away. Their gazes are always on you," came the information. "Visitors, which are rare considering most mages are brought to the Circle around six years of age, are watched just as closely. But even if they knew their families who would want to be seen going to visit a mage simply to see them. Most are forgotten by their families and those within the circle become your family."

"That's brutal." Ashley spoke. "I don't understand why... shit." she stopped to swear. "I found the Captain... and Reaper corpses." she knelt down picking up a datapad.

"Damn." Shepard sighed as they gathered around Ashley. "I hoped it wasn't the Reapers, but... why would they want the Ardat-Yakshi?"

"I have no idea," Liara responded as she took in the scene. "The Ardat-Yakshi have no place in our society, why anyone want them," Not really thinking about her words, merely stating facts which was what the scientist was good at. "They have no-" she was cut off by a sharp elbow to the side.

"Liara, please. Stop." Shepard begged.

The scientist looked confused for a moment before she noticed Bethany. Who was wringing her fingers together nervously while chewing on her lower lip; realization struck the Shadow Broker.

Liara flushed so deeply that she turned purple. "Goddess!" She cried loudly. "I-I didn't mean...I mean...t-that isn't to say..." Scrambling for something to say to the Mage.

"It...it's alright," Bethany assured her in a small voice, eyes focused on the ground instead of Liara. "You have your reasons."

"Look, yellow legal pad later." she told the two. "I got one in my cabin you can use. Until then. Liara. Stop."

"I got a NavPoint here." Ashley interrupted them. "It's for the bomb, it's in the Great Hall. They must have started the purge."

Shepard exhaled slowly, looking at Bethany before admitting what she thought was the truth. "I can't blame them. If this place is crawling with Reapers its a lost cause." she kicked the body of the Cannibal once for show.

"It looks like an...an abomination," the Mage said slowly, a twinge of fear in her voice, taking in the corpse.

That's what the people of her home feared that all like her would turn into. Massive monsters that would kill anything in sight; creatures that would turn on their own village, family and friend, and be nothing more than a mindless beast.

Perhaps...perhaps people were right to fear them as so. Perhaps it was the same reason that Liara's people moved their unwanted here; better to kill those like you, and reduce your kinds presence in the world, than killing those who were wanted and normal.

"That was a Batarian." Shepard said. "This is what the Reapers do to organics." she explained. "They harvest us, rewrite our code, turn us into these... husks." she snarled. "That's why they need to be stopped."

"And yet this...Batarian looks like the abominations of my home world," the younger of the two pointed out. "How? How is that possible?"

"I don't know." Shepard said. "It's the same reason I mistook your Shades for Scions."

"Still, a good Reaper is a dead Reaper." Ashley spoke up. "But at the same time, it just explained why they are after the Adart-Yakshi."

"The genetic mutation." Liara suddenly snapped to life. "If the Reapers get that ability... Goddess..."

"Couple with the Asari being powerful natural biotics. They will be stronger than the Brutes." Shepard said. "We can't allow that, this place needs to go."

"We'll still...try and find survivors won't we?" Bethany asked of the Commander, or maybe it was a plea, the redhead couldn't tell.

"I can't make that promise." Shepard responded after a fair silence. Getting the next door open and flooding the room with natural light. "Not when the Reapers are in play."

"They have a way of getting inside your head." Ashley told Bethany. "By the time we find out one is indoctrinated, it's usually too late."

Bethany watched, noticing how Shepard's mood had taken a downward spiral as she just pushed onwards, silently gun forward before hearing the sound of a biotic explosion and the wail of a dying Cannibal.

"Very good. I almost didn't hear you." a familiar voice spoke as Shepard lowered her gun.

"Samara?"

"It has been some time Shepard." the Justicar spoke. "You are a most welcome sight. The corruption here runs deep."

"I assume you are here on your own, Justicar." Liara spoke up again once more. Crossing her arms. "Perhaps for something special."

It was impossible to surprise Liara.

"You are correct." Samara answered. "Two of my daughters live here, and I have come for them." she paused. "Unfortunately the Reapers had already infested this place by the time I had arrived."

"You met me hunting down your other Ardat-Yakshi daughter. Am I safe to assume that these two are no threat?"

"Yes." Samara answered. "Falere and Rila have followed the monastery's rules since their arrival. They have shown no inclination to violence." Shepard moved slightly.

"So you are here to save them?"

"They are my responsibility, and it's one that cannot be abandoned even as our galaxy crumbles." Samara admitted.

"Well that just made things worse," Ashley quipped, as she rested her rifle against her body. "I mean...shit Skipper."

Bethany looked confused. "Have you not trained you kind to resist such attacks?" Came the curious question.

"The horde of angry Reapers harvesting asari or Indoctrination?" Shepard asked Bethany. "Cuz my N-School training didn't cover either."

Bethany pointed at her head. "Ashley mentioned them getting into your mind," tapping at her skull. "Surely once you leaned they fight that way you learned to defend yourself against those mind attacks?"

"I remember you." Samara looked up at Bethany. "Hawke, correct?" she asked as Shepard rubbed her forehead slowly. "Indoctrination is probably much different than you currently believe, it is not a magical quality"

"I remember. Back on Virmire." Liara started. "Rana Thanoptis. She described it as a whisper in your ear that you cannot ignore. Eventually it compels you to do thing and you don't know why."

"The farmers on Eden Prime." Ashley added. "The terrible noise Sovereign made when it descended, all the Reapers make...that probably has to do with indoctrination as well."

"Oh, yes," the Mage confirmed for the Justicar after listening to the others speak of indoctrination. "I am Bethany," she introduced before casting her gaze to Liara. "If someone is whispering to you then...well I would say its blood magic, getting inside the mind of another is easy, but it's..." A sigh came from her. "The point I'm trying to make is that if you know how to fight it, then no one can get inside your mind unless you want them to."

"Yes. We can relate it on your magic in a basic sense." Samara spoke. "But can one really reject a machine?"

Bethany shook her head. "I do not know," she confessed. "They do not exist where I hail from, so I cannot say."

"Look. Yellow legal pad." Shepard cut the two of them off. "Reapers. First."

"What does mean?" Bethany asked curiously. "You've said it several times and I still don't understand why."

"Reapers or the legal pad?" Shepard asked.

"I get that the Reapers are your blight," she responded. "I mean this yellow legal pad."

Ashley started laughing.

"Damn Shepard! I finally got it! It's a reference from an old show. When someone couldn't decide one or the other he would write a pros and cons list on a yellow legal pad then decide what to do from there."

Bethany was feeling even more clueless than before. Looking like a puppy with her facial expression; though kitten would be the better term.

"Samara. We will help you find your daughters." Shepard said. "We've already come to a possible conclusion to why the Reapers are here, maybe they can confirm it."

"Of course, Shepard." Samara paced slightly. "It has been centuries since I last saw them."

The silence was broken by a wail, the same one they had heard earlier.

"We are out of time." Samara said as her biotics flared. "I will draw them off, we will meet again. Shepard." she walked off deeper into the building. The Commander nodded as she nodded at her team, Liara and Ashley split up checking different room. Williams coming across a Commando's last message to a loved one as Liara found the doorway into the courtyard.

"Bethany..." Shepard looked at the youngest. "This is reality here, seeing this now, will it play a factor to our offer?"

"I...I don't know," came her honest answer after a minute of silence. "Even though this place is different, it still has similarities with the views that created the Circles.

Perhaps my opinion is biased. The Ardak-Yakshi being given a "choice" to come here, reminds me a lot of those like me. The isolation, it's almost like the Ardak-Yakshi are being treated as if they are at fault for being what they are," she explained. "This place may not be like the Circles of my land. The Ardat-Yakshi may still be allowed to visit their homeworld and keep in contact with their family, but I feel that's just for show.

Trying to, I don't know, make this place-this prison-feel less like what it truly is." Eyes now trained on the ground, as she wrung her fingers together out of nervous habit.

"It's just the cold harsh truth." Shepard sighed.

"This... condition." Liara walked up to them as Ashley handed the datapad over to Shepard. "Only ailes less than one percent of the entire Asari Population. If this trait was not, addictive, they would be granted a normal life like anyone else."

Confusion settled onto the mage's face. "I do not understand," a common phrase among the Hawke sisters. "How is being an Ardat-Yakshi addictive?" came the question. "I thought you said they were born as they are."

"As I said..." Liara stopped, stepping closer to Bethany and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Maybe it would be best if I just showed you."

Bethany flushed red, misinterpreting the blue skinned woman's offer. "Nononononono...y-you don't...have to do...that," ending her sentence with a squeak as she tried to slowly move away from the asari. She didn't get far, Ashley had pushed her back forward, closer to Liara.

"It would just make things easier, and faster, for all of us." Williams spoke. "We don't have all day to explain while the Reapers crawl around this place."

The golden eyed human looked shyly at the scientist. "Um...and you're okay with this?" she asked, shifting her attention to the Commander. "That she's about to mind...that she's about have...i mean, that she wants to have..._sexwithmeinmymind_?" she rushed out, turning even redder. "Though Isabela called it something different," she muttered softly.

Shepard just stared at her for a few moments. A snicker. Then another barely restrained one. Finally, the dam broke and she started howling with laughter-head snapping back as she directed the hearty noises to the ceiling.

Proving that even in a place that had Reapers crawling about it, laughter could still be achieved.

Bethany gave the Commander a rather lost look before looking over at Ashley, she had palmed her face in her gloved hand, head shaking slightly, but even a smile could be seen there. Only Liara looked genuinely concerned, she was flushed purple herself.

"Was...was not suggesting a mating meld, if that's what you thought!" Liara squeaked.

A moment of silence. "So...Isabela's story about you getting into Merrill's mind in the Deep Roads..." she trailed, glancing up at the Maiden.

"Was a Blood Magic spell gone wrong, forced us into a lighter meld, meant to share thoughts and memories. Merrill sampled my time upon the SR-1." Liara explained hastily. "Se...Shepard is... the only one I've mated with." Said woman in question still laughing her ass off, having now collapsed onto the floor.

The mage breathed a sigh of relief. "O-Okay. That's good,"sounding more relieved than anything. "So...how does this meld thing work?" she asked now looking at the scientist.

"It would just be easier if I just showed you." Liara said as she pushed against Bethany slightly, the mage stumbling backwards on instinct. "Relax." she told the nervous woman, slowly trying to guide her. "Ease your mind, and Embrace Eternity." Eyes turning black as she looked into the human's eyes.

Bethany bit her lower lip. "Um...isn't something supposed to be happening now?" she asked, her question snapping the Commander from her moment of joy. "Perhaps I'm supposed to do something?" she offered, taking in the look of pure confusion on Liara's face as her eyes reverted back to their normal appearance.

"What the hell..." Ashley whispered in awe, looking at the two.

"That was not supposed to have happened." Liara spoke, stunned. "I... I..." she shook her head, clasping at her forehead. "Something blocked me." Turning to look at her bondmate, a near bothered expression on her face. "I...I couldn't get in there. That's...that's never happened before!"

Her mind racing at FTL speeds trying to grasp that she had not been able to enter Bethany's mind; trying to come to grips with being blocked. And, trying to understand just how such a thing was possible-making the scientist inside her rearing to break free.

Her curiosity about the Hawkes growing by the day...quickly coming up to rival her obsession with the Protheans.

"Liara." Shepard was back up on her feet, moving to the rather... frantic asari. The moment she made contact with her bondmate she was forced into a quick, spiraling, meld that had her staggering backwards and Liara even more confused.

"It's not something wrong with me." she looked at Bethany, serious all of a suddenly. "Are these the defences you spoke of earlier?"

Before Bethany could answer Ashley had stepped in. "Look, as much as I'd love for all of us to stand around and figure out what's going on, we have more pressing matters to attend to." A wailing scream punctuated the Lieutenant Commander's sentence. "We need to finish doing the Asari's dirty work before we get into anything else."

"Agreed." Shepard said, shaking her head out. "Jeez Liara, warn me next time."

"Apologies, Shepard." Liara said sheepishly. "This makes no sense. I mean, this shouldn't be possible," she began murmuring to herself.

Ashley adjusted her weapon. "Don't worry about the Doc kid," the younger SpecTRe assured Bethany. "She's just trying to come to terms with being thrown for a curve ball of a loop."

Bethany gave a nod before shifting her attention to the asari, who happened to be studying her intently, making the mage nervous under her cerulean gaze. The blue armoured female noticed before smirking. "Well, you might want to worry a bit," she amended. "Looks like she wants to take you and put you in a lab to study."

Her comment getting the Fereldan to scurry quickly after the Commander who had gone to take point by the door.

"Lieutenant!" Liara hissed at Ashley, who seemed to get a kick out of it.

"Hey, it's how you managed to bed the Commander three years ago." came the sly remark as they followed the two down the stairs into the courtyard. There it was silent, Shepard slowly looking around, nervous.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Shepard whispered slowly as they heard the wailing cry once more and a flare of biotics up on a higher level before it exploded into view.

"Aww hell no." Ashley groaned as the monster started to jump around the field like a Vanguard. Shepard and her squad slowly starting to back up, Shepard scrambling for her helmet on her belt so she could at least get the HUD's read on it.

"Get to cover!" Shepard shouted, as she clasped her helmet into place and activated her HUD, her shield and ammo-counter readouts booting up along with her IFF.

"By the Goddess," Liara breathed out as she fired off some shots at the creature. "Just what is that thing?!" Watching as it jumped again, covering a fairly large distance. Pausing momentarily in it's advance to hiss at them, while swinging a massive claw in the team's direction.

Ashley had set up behind a wall. "Trouble that's what," she responded, as she attempted to catch the creature in her scope's sight.

"Banshee." Shepard said as she read the readout, some other team must have come across them before, her biotics flared as she threw a Warp at it, trying to disable the visible biotic barrier around it. Liara mimicking the same actions, until it charged forward again, closer to the Commander and throwing a biotic shockwave of sort that had her spiraling out of cover. Valiant clattering on the ground a fair distance away.

"Shepard!" came the shout as the Commander struggled to get back up onto her feet, hand going for the Mattock but the Banshee was upon her, grabbing the woman by the helmet and lifting her up off her feet. Shields and Tech Armour detonating in the process as the human struggled against the Reaper's grasp.

It seemed to observe her, as it held her head in it's massive, clawed hands. Opening it's mouth and something between a high pitched whistle and a scream coming out; all the while the Commander's heart pounding in her chest.

The Banshee then released her head. Using the same hand, it reared back-fully intent on striking a fatal blow-a blow that the redhead would not be able to avoid. Her struggling was doing nothing to loosen the Reaper's grip around her breast and neither was her squad's protective fire.

She was going to die. Again. And, just as painful as the first time. Everything that she had been doing, the alliances she had been attempting to forge, the missions, fighting off Cerberus...all of it was about to come to an end. All her her effort was about to be for nought.

The galaxy was counting on her and she had failed them. The raised hand suddenly rushing toward her heart. Her piercing scream filling the air, as he eyes squeezed shut and her body tensed for the moment she was punctured.

'_It was a good run Sil-'_

"Shepard! Shepard!" Ashley's shout brought her back around, green eyes slowly opening to see that the Banshee was frozen, claws just scraping the surface of her armour. The Reaper still staring at her as the Commander started to struggle again biotics flaring before grabbing onto the arm that was holding onto it and freezing it. Shattering through the arm with her Omni-Blade before collapsing onto the ground.

A moment later the sound of the Black Widow being fired was heard, before Shepard felt drops of blood hitting her person. Not that she minded that much; she was still reeling from the near death experience.

Unfortunately for her, she was not allowed much of a chance to pull herself together, as another scream filled the air.

"There are more of them," Bethany stated rather than asked, as she twirled her staff.

"I cannot say that is pleasant news," Liara said, as she cocked her weapon, watching as the Commander pulled herself, shakily to her feet. "Shepard?" she called out to her bondmate.

"I'm fine... I'm fine." Shepard repeated, unsure if it was to reassure herself or Liara. "Yeah..." she picked up her Valiant. "Fuck these things."

"That was an asari." Liara spoke. "There is no doubt in my mind, that is what the Reapers are turning my people into."

"Don't let them get close, obviously." Shepard gasped. "Thanks for the save though." Getting a nod from the mage.


	19. Chapter 19

Stardust: Thanks Anon. Now OffMyLeash won't stop calling me '_The False Canadian.'_

_NAME CHANGE!  
_

Rating has officially gone up, so we're moving on from just swearing to more explicit content... as for actual sex, I'll hashtag the start and ending of scenes, I guess.

I've decided not to stockpile chapters anymore, therefore the newest chapter would always reflect current feedback, to prevent that Carver debacle from happening again.

* * *

Shepard and her team arrived in another portion of the building-weapons drawn. As they were walking further in an Asari ran passed their group; being chased by a horrible looking Reaper.

She ended up running towards a wall, unintentionally cornering herself. She turned around, the creature fast approaching; her biotics not strong enough to fell it.

And then...an unexpected sight fell before her. "Mother?" Came the surprised question.

Samara didn't respond at first. And impressive display of biotics destroying the Reapers around them

"I came as soon as I was able." Samara told her daughter as Shepard and her team approached them. "Shepard. This is my youngest. Falere."

"Mother!" Falere cut of Shepard before she could speak. "They have Rila."

"What?" The Justicar responded shifting her full attention to her daughter.

"They took her to the Great Hall," Falere explained. "I've been trying to get there but there are so many of those creatures in the way."

"Have the Reapers been harvesting you?" Shepard asked Falere nodded slowly.

"Yes." she pointed at the banshee corpse not too far away. "They've been turning us into those monsters. Please. You cannot let this happen to Rila!"

"Well that also proves that Ardat-Yakahi are not to blame for this mess." Ashley spoke up. "High Command was too quick to jump to conclusions."

"And they lost an entire squad of Commando for it." Liara snapped back.

"This is our home." Falere turned to the other two. "Most are grateful to be here, the monastery is a place the Ardat-Yakshi can achieve peace." She seemed upset about the accusation.

"Falere," Samara chastised her youngest.

A sigh came from the Ardat-Yakshi. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "But why are you here?"

"Asari High Command sent us." Shepard said. "They want to purge this place, and with the Reapers on your doorstep, I have no choice but to agree with them."

"Wait...didn't you come to save us?" Falere demanded. When Shepard said nothing the sheltered Asari frowned. "You sound just like the Commandos. They didn't stop to help anyone either," she said before turning and jumping off to the balcony lower level-using her biotics to slow her fall.

"She's going after Rila," Samara announced before following. "I will go after her. Meet us there."

"We'll move as fast as we can." Shepard said as Samara walked off, she looked at the others, namely at Bethany. "Are we good to go?" she asked.

The mage gave a nod of her head, looking down at the ground shyly, before following the Commander as they made their way through the monastery, traveling toward the Great Hall. "What was that back there anyway?" Ashley asked. "You know, with the Reaper and the Commander," came the clarification. "It's like it...froze."

"I...I used a paralysis glyph on it," Bethany answered, feeling her cheeks warm. "It takes effect immediately, but only holds about half a minute."

The blue armoured SpecTRe nodded. "Handy," she responded.

"Shepard would have died if it wasn't for you." Liara said to Bethany, looking at the back of Shepard's helmeted head as the Commander pried the next set of doors opened, already they could hear the sounds of a Reaper force behind the door, but not the telltale sign of a Banshee. "I thank you."

The golden eyed Hawke flushed under the praise. "It...I mean...I didn't do anything special," she muttered shyly, as she cast her eyes to the ground.

It was years of habit. Any attention to her could lead to the discovery that she was a mage; so, Bethany had learned to downplay her accomplishments out of fear. She could only truly handle praise from her family.

But from others...it was a foreign concept to her, and it showed in how she was responding to Liara's words.

"Bethany." Shepard stopped leading the team, turning around to stand before the younger Hawke. "Stop downplaying yourself." she knelt down and pulled off her helmet. "There is no risk here, play to your strengths, take a compliment. You have the makings to be an amazing woman, but you're letting your fear hold you back."

The black haired youth shook her head. "Nineteen years of habit doesn't simply go away like that," she pointed out as she chewed on her lower lip. "I understood at a young age that to draw attention to myself was to draw attention to my family. They faced danger for not obeying the law and handing me over to the Circle.

If anyone ever got to suspicious, we had to move. And we always moved around when I was younger before finally settling down in Lothering," came the explanation. "The only way I knew to protect them, or to help them protect me, was be plain. To be seen and unseen at the same time. I'm nothing like my siblings, where Sabrina stood out naturally, and where Carver forced himself in the eyes of people, I chose to blend in with the crowd.

I...I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for." Liara was the one who spoke this time, as Ashley watched the three of them. "You're free here Bethany, live life to the fullest while you can."

"Remember my offer." Shepard said again. "Even after all of this." she gestured to the building. "It still stands, it's up to you if you want to claim it or not."

"Shepard, you're seriously thinking of-" Ashley stopped herself. "Well, if Hackett agrees, I can't say no, she'd be a powerful ally to have."

"I just need to ask the Shadow Broker to pull his little strings for me; forge all the correct documents to get her through until the Alliance draws up something proper." Shepard glanced at Liara who looked away.

The mage nodded. "I have not forgotten your offer," she assured the taller woman. "It all seems too convenient, but I have not dismissed it." Earning a smile from the Commander, before she went back and took point for the group.

"Wait..." it was Ashley who stopped Bethany as Shepard had disappeared into the next room, the sound of tech and boitics all too familiar as she tore through the Reapers. "You're only nineteen? Damn! I thought you were only three of four years younger than me!"

"How old are you?" Bethany questioned curiously, as the sound of fighting stopped and the doors were pried open by the oldest among them.

"Twenty eight." Came the answer. "You're around the same age as my youngest sister," she remarked.

"Has your entire life been spent fighting?" Liara inquired, as she led the two through the threshold into the next room; the corpses of Reaper bodies littering the floor.

Bethany took a few moments to think on it. "Maybe," she finally settled on. "When I was old enough to be trained my father helped me to train my magic. My siblings and I would fight together.

The first thing I ever killed was a darkspawn. The first person I'd ever killed was during our first year in Kirkwall," she informed the blue skinned scientist.

"That's rough." Liara admitted. "While I cannot say the same for me, having killed raiders and pirates during my digs before, I might understand just a little bit on where you are coming from. " didn't truly, experience, the violence this galaxy had to offer until Shepard saved me from a Krogan Battlemaster on Therum three years ago."

"And you haven't been on a dig since." Ashley quipped, Liara shook her head.

"I'm not much of a fan on small, confining, spaces as I used to be." Liara admitted. "I've grown more accustomed to this life. While digging would still be an enjoyment for me, it wouldn't satisfy me as it once did."

"I had nightmares after my first encounter with darkspawn," the mage confessed. "The same after the first person I killed. But eventually, those feelings just went away...just another body to the ever growing pile."

Ashley opened her mouth to speak but a wail of a Banshee cut her off, the three of them looking at each other. They had forgotten that Shepard had went on ahead, and they had forgotten to follow after her.

"Well, shit." Ashley sighed as they took off into the next room, Shepard was sprinting across the room, Valiant in hand as she tried to keep the Banshee off her.

"Nice of you to join the party." Shepard hissed when the others arrived.

Ashley was quick to get behind cover. "Hey, it's not our fault you decided to press on without us," the younger woman countered as she fired shots at the Reaper from behind.

"Honestly Shepard, if I didn't know any better I'd say you've got a death wish," Liara commented as she fired at the tainted asari, before hitting it with a warp, killing it's barrier.

"Without you?" Shepard shouted as she fired a triplet of shots before reloading. "You all know we gotta go to the Great Hall, it was _you _who didn't _follow_ me!" she shouted as she stood up, throwing a warp at the Banshee as Liara followed up with a throw, the biotic detonation shattering at least half of the armour that made up it's body. A headshot from Ashley's Black Widow did the rest as the body fell, the biotic fire disintegrating the body into ash. Cannibals still surrounding them.

"The door up ahead is locked.' Shepard said, looking at the three. "Cover me as I work it's lock, should only take a couple seconds." she jumped her cover and sprinted across the room.

"Yeah, yeah," Ashley remarked as she reloaded her weapon. "If that's how you want to see it Skipper," she quipped firing on the remaining Reapers.

Bethany managed to take two of them down with a fireball. "Why do you call her Skipper?" came the inquiry as she cast a haste on the group, catching the three women off guard. "Does she skip?"

Joker laughed into all their ear pieces. "_Oh, I would give every credit I have to see that!"_ he declared. "_That's worth making a deal with the Shadow Broker!"_

"It's just the nautical term for the master of the ship." Ashley supplied quickly as she fired another round. Shepard getting the door open as quickly as she said she would. "Shepard is the Normandy's Captain after all."

"Everyone in!" Shepard shouted. "I'm gonna seal the door behind us!"

With increased speed, the three managed to make it to the other side of the door in no time. Shepard effectively closing and sealing it behind them.

"Goddess," Liara breathed out. "This is amazing," looking at the green glow that surrounded them all.

"I..." Ashley looked at her hand. "What is this?" she asked looking at Shepard who was sealing the door shut behind them.

"Haste." Bethany supplied. "Speeds up your reaction time and movement." as she watched the two, Ashley raised and lowered her gun a few times

"It's like a weird spin-off of my Marksman ability." Williams supplied. "I like it."

* * *

"What is this?" Sabrina asked curiously as she looked over the pilot's shoulder. A giant screen in front of him that had moving images; or, more specifically, her sister, Liara, and Ashley moving about it and sometimes Shepard's hands or weapon would get in the way.

The group of four making their way through what the rogue figured was a temple.

"It has moving pictures," she added, not that Joker needed to be told that. It was said more out of awe than anything else. Shepard's world continuing to amaze her.

"This is the video feed from Shepard's helmet." EDI explained as the video turned, kneeling over a body of an asari and turning it over, purple blood staining the front of the uniform as Shepard's hands patted down the sides, removing thermal clips and other small items Hawke didn't recognize.

"_Another commando got overrun? This place must've been chaos... or they panicked." _Ashley's voice filled the room, causing Hawke to look around for the source, unable to find it, much like when EDI used the entire ship to speak.

"_Asari commandos have decades of experience, they don't panic."_ Liara's voice snapped back as Shepard's hands found something, Hawke recognized it as a rifle scope.

"Ooo...I think Liara's upset," Joker commented, as he watched the scene as if he were watching a made for T.V. movie. "Not surprising...she's always been sensitive when it comes to her people."

EDI turned to him. "But the humans are the same way Jeff," she pointed out. "They also get offended when they are spoken ill of."

He nodded in agreement. "True, true, but we get over it. We understand that we're looked down on and we shrug it off," he pointed out. "Asari are different. They're pretty much held in high regard by all races...so if something happens they don't like, namely being spoken down on, they can't handle it.

Not saying some of them can't. But in many cases, like Liara's, they can't handle that their species fell anything short of dignity and perfection."

They watched as the camera tilted to the side slightly, a marker appearing on the screen, a navigation point of the Great Hall.

"Liara is still young." EDI responded. "With the way this war is going, she will undoubtedly come to a revelation." EDI was still looking at her own console, moving a few of the screens. "Hopefully the Commander will be there for her when that time comes."

"_Doesn't matter how long you've been fighting,"_ Ashley countered. "_You never know what'll break your unit."_

"Yeah..." Joker said slowly as he adjusted himself in his seat. "Coming to a revelation is one thing, accepting it is another," Noticing how Liara was fuming from Ashley's words when the Commander turned to look at the pair.

Sabrina leaned against the back of his chair, utterly fascinated with what was happening on the screen. "The truth isn't something that's easily accepted," the rogue remarked, watching as more things flashed on the screen, her eyes having trouble keeping up with it all.

Eventually Shepard had stopped moving, the camera stopped at a terminal as Shepard's hand floated over the terminal, a few things lighting up.

"_I'm disappointed we haven't seen any other survivors aside from Falere."_ Ashley pointed out as the video feed turned to face the Lieutenant Commander. "_I'm guessing Adart-Yakshi aren't trained in biotics."_

"_Biotics is standard in our teachings." _Liara spoke "_Whether they decide continue their studies after being diagnosed, it entirely up to them." _there was a pause. "_I doubt many have though."_

"_If you don't need it, why learn it?" _Shepard added. "_Everything I know I picked up off the streets, so don't ask me any chemistry questions."_

"What is she doing?" Hawke asked curiously, as the Commander's hand hovered over the terminal.

"Scavenging," EDI informed her. "Gathering usual information and data that will be filed into her report."

"Basically grabbing as she goes so no backtracking will be involved," the pilot supplied, as she redhead moved away from it and headed towards a door. "The Commander and Tali'Zorah share the same concept, grab what you can, figure out if it's valuable at the end.

She did that all through the time we were tracking Saren." Joker said. "We were swimming in credits, had all the best equipment, Ashley and Wrex were in heaven with all the guns we had." he chuckled.

"_I think this is the only way down." _Shepard looked at the others. "_We good?" _All three of her companions on screen nodding their confirmations.

The door opened, and Shepard was the first to enter; footsteps of the others following behind her filling the air. Once inside she pressed a button on the wall-the rearing of gears and cogs coming to life as the elevator began to move.

Upon reaching their destination, the door flew immediately open, revealing a shadowed path leading further into the Great Hall.

"_Maker..._" Bethany breathed out as she took in the sight, as Shepard's weapon-Hawke thought is was the Valiant-filled the screen as she slowly led her team further inside.

"_There's the bomb."_ Ashley spoke

* * *

"Rila, Rila, please, wake up." Falere begged of her older sister, kneeling on the ground beside another asari who was resting against the bomb. Samara standing over them, distant, like usual. "Rila? Rila. Can you hear me?"

Shepard nodded at Ashley to check the bomb as Rila slowly woke up, bringing herself up onto her feet, Falere standing at the same time. Rila was silent, blinking once before opening her eyes once more, Falere only saw black for a moment before Rila lunged forward trying to wrap her hands around Falere's neck, after a moment of struggle the younger Adart-Yakshi pushed her sister back onto the floor where Rila remained unmoving.

"Why... why did she do that?" Falere asked, sounding confused and lost.

"Because they've begun to turn her into one of the Reaper's creatures." Samara said as Falere hung her head. Shepard stepped up, removing her helmet.

"I'm sorry, but there is nothing we can do." she told Falere, silence was her answer, instead she turned to Ashley instead. "Can we set off that bomb?"

"We need a detonator." Ashley said, Shepard walked over to the pile of equipment in the corner of the room and started sifting through the gear.

"Commandos would've had one. We gotta find it."

She didn't get far in her search before the cry of a Banshee was heard. Drawing the groups attention to an entrance way; the creature sauntering down the stairs-pausing momentarily to scream at them, waving a clawed hand in their direction.

* * *

Sabrina learned back. "Creators! What in the name of the Eastern Seas is that?!" she demanded to know, a grimace on her face from the ear piercing sound the thing made. "It looks like an abomination, but I've never seen one so grotesque...and those things get pretty ugly."

Her sea green eyes were drawn to the screen. Seeing the grey skinned creature before it suddenly vanished, and reappeared closer to the group; glowing that familiar blue hue that the biotics of the ship did.

"A Banshee, this is the fourth... and fifth they have encountered." EDI corrected her statement when they saw the second one appear. Shepard's own biotics making it hard to see. "This is what a Reaper changes an Asari into once harvested."

"_I'm really starting to hate these things!" _Ashley shouted as she moved to another side of the field, trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and the Banshees.

"_Shepard!_" Bethany called out, drawing the Commander's gaze, as she caught the mage fending off a much smaller reaper. "_What is this thing?!"_ the youngest Hawke demanded to know as she impaled it on ice spikes. The video moved to take a look at the smaller monster Bethany had killed.

"_A husk! A harvested human!"_

"_Shepard!"_

There was an explosion and their video feed was suddenly flipping through the air, coming to a stop against the floor as Shepard picked herself back up.

"They're struggling, these Banshees are tough sons of bitches." Joker pointed out, as another scream came through the audio feeds; Hawke felt the overwhelming urge to cover her ears from the piercing sound.

One of the Banshees slowly began making it's way over to Bethany. "Move Bethany," Sabrina ordered at the screen as she watched the creature advance on her sibling, hand clutching at Joker's seat.

"She cannot hear you." EDI pointed out as the sound of Shepard's Tech and Liara's biotics filled the room. Slowly the camera started to pick up speed as Shepard started to charge at the Banshee that was closing in on Bethany."

"What are you thinking Commander?!" Joker shouted. "That nearly killed you last time!"

"She cannot hear you," the unshackled AI pointed out again.

The pilot waved her off. "It's a human thing EDI," he told her, as his eyes focused on the screen. "Doesn't matter if they can hear us or not. When we're feeling powerful emotions, when tend to blurt them out.

You'll see it a lot when people watch movies or sports. People get into it," he added.

"The same can be said for other areas of entertainment," Sabrina added, as she watched the Commander's camera get higher than the Banshee. Did the woman jump? She had no clue.

What she did know is that Shepard collided with the back of the creature. The two barely had time to hit the ground before the Commander's weapon came into view; it then began jerking rapidly as she fired off a lot of shots into the back of the Banshee's head.

She didn't stop until their was a nice sized hole that oozed purple goo either.

"Huh. Well, that's certainly one way to turn a Reaper into Ivan Ooze," Joker commented in surprise, chuckling at the reference he made.

"_Commander?!"_ Came the surprised yelp from Bethany as Shepard quickly got back up onto her feet, her hand reaching out and grabbing the youngest Hawke by the arm and shoving her behind the barrier Samara had generated to protect herself and her daughters.

"_Stay put."_ Shepard ordered before turning around and throwing her biotics at the other Banshee, a biotic explosion Liara had primed earlier going off.

The creature flying back, slamming against the pillar...cracking it with it's force. It slid to the ground, unmoving...before it's body began turning black as it began to dissolve.

Ashley let out a sigh. "_I think that's the last of 'em,_" she said as she held up her rifle a few minutes later. "_For now at least_."

The camera moved in what Sabrina assumed was a nod.

_Hey, Commander, just wanted to let you know that after that little stunt, I'm completely convinced that you're more Krogan than your girlfriend_, Joker said over their comm link.

"_Awe how nice." _Shepard commented back. "_I'm sure Uncle Urdnot would agree with you." _Quickly the camera started to move again, jogging over to Samara and the others by the bomb where Rila was waking up again.

"_Falere go! Take the elevator!"_

* * *

"Rila, what are you doing?" Falere asked, as her sister took her hands, trying to say goodbye.

"It's too late for me, there are hundreds coming, just go!" she pulled the detonator from her pocket and everyone was silent, all agreeing on the same thing, this was the only way. Falere quickly moved to go back to her sister but Shepard quickly grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back.

"We need to go!" Shepard shouted, Falere struggling against her.

"No! Rila!"

"I love you..." Rila spoke softly as she watched the others move to evacuate, the sounds of Banshees coming around once more.

Rila leaned against the bomb; their cries causing her eyes to turn black as she struggled against the change occurring in her body. Casting her gaze to the side she could see them coming down the stairs-their decrepit bodies, alight with synthetics.

The young asari found herself sinking to her knees, still clutching on to the detonator with all her strength.

She fired off a biotic blast at the first one to ascend the stairs. The Banshee easily deflected her attempt, screaming it's irritation at her. Rila clutching desperately at the side of her head, as she watched the group get onto the elevator-Falere struggling against the Commander the entire time.

Her gaze remained locked on her sister, knowing this was the last time either would ever see the other, before Shepard hit the button, forcing the elevator door closed.

She looked back at to those before her, Banshee's wailing and screaming, one of them stabbing her through the chest and pulling her up off her feet, other hand to grab at her crest and pull her head back. Slowly she raised the detonator, the monster seeing it and crying out.

"We are not your slaves." she spat before pressing the button and dropping the device.

* * *

Falere clawed at the elevator door when they felt the explosion rock the building, eventually punching at the metal and hanging her head. Bethany taking that step forward to pull her away from the door and into a comforting hug as Falere silently cried.

"While this has never happened to me before," the golden eyed woman spoke softly. "I know how I would feel if my sister and I were forced apart in such a way," speaking to the crying woman. "And, I also know that she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice herself for me if it meant I got to live."

Falere didn't respond right away, she just kept shaking her head against Bethany's shoulder. "There... there wasn't even enough time to say goodbye." she whispered

"Few can break the Reaper's hold. Rila's will was extraordinary, as was her love for you." Samara said as the elevator came to a slow stop at the entrance, everyone filling out. Falere pulled away from Bethany and walked out to the center of the landing pad, the burning fires from the building setting the mood that was to come.

"We left her to die mother!" Falere snapped, Samara slowly walked forward.

"Rila made her choice, and it has reminded me of what is truly important, why I swore to lay down my life." Samara said, looking towards the horizon. Shepard shifted slightly beside the others.

"What it that?" Falere asked as Samara looked at her.

"Falere... the code demands an Ardat-Yakishi cannot live outside a monastery that no longers exists." Samara said slowly as she pulled her pistol from her hip and held it out, checking over both sides slowly.

"What are you doing?!" Shepard snapped as she walked forward, creating a triangle amongst the three. Samara looked up at the Commander, almost, looking sorry.

"I'm sorry Shepard. By the justicar's code... there is only one way to save Falere..." she looked back at her daughter, realization kicking is as she slowly raised her weapon and pressed it against her own temple. Falere crying for her mother to stop. "My daughters... you were all so much stron-"

Shepard didn't let her finish, grabbing the wrist that held the gun and pulling it back, locking Samara's hands behind her back. Samara struggled just once but Shepard yanked her arms back.

"Let. Go."

"What are you doing?!" Shepard hissed, her voice low.

"Fulfilling the Code!"

"By throwing your life away?"

"I won't kill my last daughter!" Samara protested, struggling to look at Shepard.

"You won't have to." Falere spoke up, attracting the attention back to her as Shepard let Samara go. "I'll stay here - home - no matter what's become of it." she slowly walked up to her mother. "I could have left at any time. I don't need a building to honour my own code; and if the Reapers return, they won't take me alive. I promise." she spoke softly, Samara taking a moment to think things over.

"Then... the Code permits you to stay, as you are." Samara admitted, Falere smiled and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her mother in her hug, Samara taking her time before returning the gesture. "Once this war is over, and if I am able. I will visit. As a justicar should."

"You can stay here Samara." Shepard spoke, "Help rebuild a home here."

"I cannot." Samara answered. "I must help you oppose the Reapers, if you will have me as part of your forces."

"I would be honoured."

"The honour is mine, my friend." Samara responded before looking at her daughter, the two of them returning back into the building. Shepard stayed where she was, placing her hands on her hips and kicking the ground slightly.

* * *

"Bethany," Sabrina called to the younger girl, who was seated between her legs. "Sister, please," nudging at the mage's shoulder. "Tell me what you are thinking."

When they had returned from the mission everyone on the ground team had scattered off in their own directions. Liara had locked herself in the cabin, Shepard was in the Main Battery with Garrus and Ashley had hauled a crateful of equipment up into the observation deck she called home.

Sabrina had found Bethany sitting on the corner of her bed, looking a little worse for wear.

"Does this have to do with their temple?" The rogue prodded. "Or the two sisters? Both?" Desperately trying to find what was ailing her sister.

"All of it." Bethany had finally admitted. "I thought that coming here I would never see a Circle again, and yet the Asari have one for their people."

"Tell me about it?" Sabrina requested, resting her head against Bethany's shoulder.

She'd learned that her sister did well by talking things out. Sabrina had learned when the Mage just wanted to rant and just have someone listen; or, if she wanted to talk and have someone speak.

Bethany nodded and slowly told the tale, what they saw and explained how Liara told her about the threat the Ardat-Yakshi were.

"Liara said it was for the safety of everyone, Shepard even told me how one had almost killed her. I just... I don't know how I feel about all of this. Shepard was even hesitant to save survivors once we heard the Reapers were involved."

Sabrina licked along the side of the mage's neck. "Well, at least they didn't attempt to hide it from you," she pointed out, wrapping her arms around Bethany's middle. "And while it does sound like the Circle, I notice the differences too.

They get to keep in contact with their families for one," the elder sister added. "Maybe you can speak to Liara and see how her people are trying to..." She trailed, not wanting to say 'fixed' because then it would sound like the asari that lives there were broken. "...to...figure out a way to help them."

"I don't think they are." Bethany admitted. "Not with the way Liara spoke of them, not with the way Shepard had to tell Liara to stop talking numerous times." she paused, then decided to change the subject.

"Their Reapers... I cannot help but feel that they put even the Darkspawn to shame."

Sabrina brought a hand up to put on the Mage's head. "If they all look like those Banshees then I completely agree with you," she stated with a chuckle, tightening her hold on the younger woman.

Bethany looked at her sister, surprised. "How? You weren't there! That was the first time any of us have seen them!"

A chuckle came the the tattooed sibling. "With Joker and EDI," she answered. "Shepard has some type of...thing in her helmet, that let us see you all while fighting," came the explanation.

"We could hear you too, but you couldn't hear us...unless Joker pressed a button."

"That..." Bethany was speechless. "Wow, that does explain why Joker kept talking at the most awkward of times. I was listening to the others on the ship talk the other day. I don't think we've seen an actual Reaper yet. These things we fought, are just their foot soldiers."

"As with all evil enemies," Sabrina quipped. "Apparently it's a rule that in order to be evil you have to send in a staggering amount of foot soldiers before we can even hope to catch a glimpse of the horde leader," her usual charm coming through.

A chuckle. "A part of me hopes we'll never see a Reaper."

Bethany let out a squeal when the rogue suddenly changed their position. Bethany ending up on her back, with Sabrina resting atop her, grinning like a imp.

"You little whimp," came the playful tease as she nipped at the shorter's ear.

"Sabrina!" Bethany gasped. "You know I'm right! I heard the girls that guard that glowing door. Shepard had to summon something called a Thresher Maw to kill a Reaper."

The rogue snorted. "Hey, Reaper or Ogre if it gets in our way, we'll take it down!" The older girl stated with a grin, showing off pearly whites.

"Well, when we see one, I guess you can show that Thesher Maw how it's done then." Bethany chuckled. "But I'd still worry about those Banshees."

"Don't worry Bethy, your big sister won't let those nasty Banshees get you," came the declaration.

"Well so far. Shepard's done a better job." came the push.

The older girl huffed. "Are you trying to replace me?" Sitting up and pouting.

"Come on sister." Bethany smiled. "Look at everything she's done for us in just a few short days. No one else would have done it."

"So you are trying to replace me!" Sabrina declared playfully. "But you're right. She has done much for us."

"I still wouldn't say replace. More like. The older sister we never had."

"Uh huh," Sabrina said before attacking the mage's side.

"_Lola! Tiny Wings!"_ James' call came over the intercom. "_Come join us in the mess! I'm making genuine italian cuisine! Gotta try it!"_

"_Forget it! His cookings not that great anyway!"_ the pilot said. "_Just got back to your sisterly bonding...and Hawke, if you could just put your hand up her shirt that's be great._"

Sabrina just shook her head as she let her sister up. "What do you suppose this I-talian is?" She inquired of the younger woman, who giggled as she pulled herself up.

"Only one way to find out."

* * *

"That's cheating!" Garrus snapped at Shepard, pushing the woman playfully that she stumbled down the three steps that lead to the hallway of the main battery. The two of them had set up a magnetic dartboard on the door and were chucking the darts down the hallway.

"It's called having fun!" Shepard laughed as the two Hawkes came around the corner. The group looking much more lively. James was working away in the kitchen with Cortez sitting at the island counter. Ashley had made a mess of half the table pieces of a gun scattered as she cleaned it, Bethany identified it as the Black Widow.

On the other half of the table Liara and Traynor were deep into a game of chess, impossible to tell who was winning. While peering through the Medbay window they could see their mother and Doctor Chakwas in a deep conversation.

"Glad you can join us!" James hollered at the two.

"Prepare to have your socks blown off by my magnificent cooking!" The marine bragged as he stood over the stove.

Cortez chuckled. "Papa John's has more flavour," the shuttle pilot teased.

"So I take it you want sausage Estaban?" Came the retort.

"I'm a bratwurst man myself," causing James to falter a bit before laughing loudly.

"You two are disgusting." Sam made a face before her knight captured one of Liara's pawns.

"All in good jest Specialist." Steve smirked.

"Besides, us guys have to stick together," Vega pointed out. "Least the lady lovers take all kitties and there be none for a manly man like myself to play with...though Liara doesn't count.

With _him_ being genderless and all," a teasing smirk on his face.

"Mono-gendered." Liara almost spat as she moved her piece. "Male and female have no meaning to my race."

"_Maybe not to your race, but it certainly does to you doc." _Joker quipped over the comm system. "_Face it, you're a man. The positions you like to put the Commander in prove that."_ causing Shepard to severely hook her throw to the left from his words.

Getting a hearty laugh from Garrus. "Calibrating your gun Liara?" The Turian teased, smirking. "And are you doing your part to keep it oiled up Shepard?" causing Shepard to go as red as her hair from the question.

"Nice." Ashley was chuckling as she peered down the barrel of her rifle. "Honestly. I thought you topped Commander."

"I hate you all." Shepard muttered as she went down the hall to retrieve her lost dart.

"_On the battlefield, yes."_ Joker said. "_On the bed...she's pinned down like suppression fire on C-Sec"_

That got laughs from everyone...except the redhead and the asari.

"Goddess." Liara sighed, flushed purple herself.

"Liara you sly fox." Ashley chuckled.

"I see you're still continuing with your archeologist work," the Turian said. "You certainly did enjoy going deep, deep, deep within holes. That's where we found you," chuckling.

"Apparently that habit holds true eh? Skipper?"

"Okay. Now I got images in my head I don't want in my head." Sam complained. "No thanks to you Vega!" she chucked a pawn at him but it fell short.

The muscular man laughed. "Not much for sports are your Britain?" He teased. "Anyway, Lola. Tiny Wings. Come and behold my masterpiece!"

"One girl saying it was the biggest thing she's ever seen and he runs with it for the rest of his life," Cortez joked.

A pawn came sailing his way. "I don't need these kind of images in my head!" Samantha cried out.

The shuttle pilot laughed. "Why not?" He challenged. "Practically everyone on this side of the room likes things pushed into them...or being the one pushing them in."

Even Ashley groaned at that one.

Sabrina was heading that way before turning sharply. "Uh...I'll stick to this side of the room if you don't mind," she told Vega with a grin.

"Aw, don't tell me you munch more carpet than a vacuum Lola," Vega said as he added more cheese to this creation.

The rogue's face contorted in confusion. "I...what?"

A collective groan from the human, space faring, females.

"You really want to explain that one Vega?" Garrus asked with crossed arms. "Or are you going to let dinner burn?"

"_I'll be more than happy to-"_

"Joker." Shepard growled. "How the hell did this conversation start?" she nearly blurted out. "It's like polite dinner table talk to BC Weed to farmer serial killers feeding their pigs human remains."

"_Who knows, but you've got to admit this makes this much more livelier" _the pilot responded.

Before he could say more Hawke's stomach growled...loudly.

"Whoa...sounds like a varren's been brought on board," James said as he topped off his creation with another helping of meat.

"What are you making anyway?" Bethany asked. "I never heard of Italian before."

Cortez nearly fell off his seat.

She flushed a bit when his eyes fell on her. "Never heard of Italian?!" He cried, as if she had committed some type of crime. "You poor thing. If we were in the Citadel I'd take you to a restaurant right now.

But I suppose Vega attempting to recreate Little Italy will have to do."

"That doesn't really answer my question." Bethany muttered.

"It's a pizza Tiny Wings," James answered with a chuckle, holding it up for the sisters to see it.

"Pea-zah?" Hawke questioned curiously as she moved to inspect it more closely. "I've never seen any food look like this," feeling the urge to poke at it. "It doesn't smell too appealing either."

"It still needs to be baked." Cortez chuckled.

"The sooner the better probably." Liara added. "I'm sure Garrus also wants you to make him one too."

"Indeed I do." Garrus said as he and Shepard had returned to throwing darts.

"Ladies first...doesn't include you Blueberry," he said, teasing the scientist as he put the finished creation in the oven.

Liara huffed as she knocked her king over in a surrender, Bethany titled her head to the side.

"What did you mean when you said your race was 'mono-gendered'?" she asked the Asari.

"_Oh, this will be good."_ Joker said, and the smirk could just be imagined on his face.

The scientist rolled her eyes. "We're all women," she answered.

Sabrina looked over at her. "But you said 'male' and 'female' have no meaning for your people," the rogue pointed out. "So how are they women if...they're not women?" Struggling with the concept.

"You kind perceives my race as all female, so that's just how it goes." Liara sighed as she and Sam started setting up the board again.

"Because you look like a woman," Hawke pointed out, moving over to the asari and looking at her. Bethany doing the same. The pair looking at her like children whose interest had been sparked and wouldn't die until sated.

"So that should make you a woman," the rogue added.

"And, you don't sound like a man," the mage pointed out. She then gestured to the men on their room. "Their voices are deeper."

Garrus snickered. "Looks like Liara will be getting her practice in for those future 'little blue children' eh Shepard?" He teased nudging the woman, incidentally messing up her throw.

"It's just very technical." Liara tried to explain again. "We're mono-gender but feminine in appearance." she pretty much repeated what was already said.

"Basically." Sam tried this time. "They're unisex."

"One sex," Ashley supplied noticing their curious expressions from the word.

"So..." Bethany said after a few moments. "If its only one sex...shouldn't you have died out?" She questioned. "You don't mention men.

So how do you..."

"Breed," Sabrina finished."

"Bethany, remember the incident we had back on the monastery?" Liara asked, getting a nod from the mage. "A proper mating meld allows us to map our partner's DNA, allowing us to create the second set the father would normally give. Therefore the species or gender of the father does not matter."

"Basically." Ashley set the part of her gun down. "If Shepard and Ol'Doc here were to have kids. Shepard would be the father, even if she doesn't act like it in bed."

"Shut up Williams!" Shepard shouted.

"Then...if you can have this...mind sex," the tattooed sibling began slowly, as the information floated in her head. "Then why do you need to have normal sex?"

"_HAHA...HAHAH...HAHAHAHA... HAHAHAHA...ha...Ohhhh..." _Joker laughed long and hard over the comm system.

Liara had flushed from the question, as had Shepard.

"Yeah T'Soni." Ashley leaned in closer. "Do tell, if Asari can have mind sex, why do they also participate in physical sex too?" she was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Rumour has it that your people can't orgasm without a meld as well, is that true?"

Liara spluttered.

"_Yeah, come come Doc." _the pilot prodded. "_You'll always talking up a storm. So talk._

_You've got a pair of eager ears ready for your words."_

The scientist noticing how the Hawkes shifted closer toward her. "So you'd cum every time you did the mind sex thing?"

"That didn't happen when she tried to get into my head," Bethany pointed out to her sister. "She seemed really bothered by that too."

"_Because she'd been cockblocked."_ Joker stated. "_It isn't a good feeling"_ Vega nodding in agreement.

"Melding isn't just mind sex." Liara seemed really put off. "It's also a way to transfer memories and Information. Remember? That's how Shepard got the cipher from Shiala, how I got the message from the beacon from Shepard." she huffed. "No, we don't orgasm the moment we meld, physical sex helps build up the emotions and feeling to that point." she finished glaring at Ashley before reaching across the table poking the Lieutenant Commander in the forehead and blasting her with a quick and brutal meld that had the human woman falling backwards off the bench.

The younger Specter groaned. "That's low T'Soni," she grumbled as she rubbed at her head.

"So can you read my mind then?" Hawke requested, sounding excited about the whole idea.

"I don't know." Liara admitted. "I was unable to meld if your sister to share the information about the Ardat-Yakshi. I doubt I could meld with you."

"That I do not know the answer to."

Realization suddenly hit Bethany. "Oh! Right!" Smacking her hand against her forehead. "My walls were up."

Everyone looked at the Mage.

"We've trained our minds to be resilient against those seeking to enter without permission," Sabrina explained. "It's like they hit a wall and we feel it when they do."

Liara rubbed her forehead slowly, that certainly explained the mishap back then.

"You know. Of you said that sooner, maybe learning about the Adart-Yakshi wouldn't have been much of a pain." Ashley said quickly as Sam flicked a pawn at Bethany's forehead.

The Mage rubbed at her forehead. "It's easy to forget," she defended herself. "It's natural for us. It prevents us from being attacked mentally," she added. "From being controlled."

"That's good to know." Garrus spoke up. "So we don't have to worry about a Reaper worming its way into your head. But seeing the way we kill them. I don't think you really have to worry."

"Surely you can do the same?" Hawke challenged.

"I certainly can't." Garrus laughed. "Hell I don't think even an Asari can control your mind."

"We cannot." Liara said. "But we do know how to wall off parts of our mind to hide things from our partners or intruders."

"The Asari are the best interrogators C-Sec can find. Unless you're Shepard. Garrus added as Shepard crossed her arms.

"Cut off your balls and sell them to a Krogan. I remember that. Pity I can't use that line anymore." Shepard smirked.

"Yeah but telling anyone you're a SpecTRe makes them piss their pants anyway." Cortez laughed. The Commander just chuckled in response.

"So with that out of the way you should be able to read my mind now right?" Hawke asked of Liara again.

"It's not really reading." Liara pointed out.

"Come off the technical terms Blueberry and just read her mind already," Vega said, in the process of making a second pizza.

Liara sighed looking at Hawke. "Alright." she said, almost defeat. "Relax and Embrace Eternity."

_I have existed for eons beyond measure. Long enough to rage, and grow angry, lose my mind, become riddle with despair...and start it all over again._

_A time of battles so long ago their names no longer exist. Faces and names as withered as their fallen corpses._

_I have waited. And I have watched. And I have deemed you as worthy. To carry...and know..._

It was the last thing Liara heard before she was forced from the rogue's mind.

"Goddess." Liara gasped, touching her forehead.

Ignoring Joker over the comms, Liara slowly stood up from the table, Shepard abandoning her game to join her bondmate."Liara..." she asked. "What happened?"

"I...I...Goddess, I..." The scientist struggled to say. Her mind was completely blown, to the point she could form no words.

"Hey, hey." Shepard said softly. "It's fine. Don't hurt yourself over it."

"So what did you see?" James asked.

"Yeah I'm with James," Ashley spoke up. "Don't leave us on the edge of our seats."

"I..." Liara paused. "I heard, more than I saw, Hawke here, has interacted with someone who existed long before the Protheans. I think."

Silence fell over the room.

"Could have it been the Leviathan?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know." Liara said. "And I probably won't be able to tell if it is the Leviathan or not until we find it."

"But I don't get it," Garrus voiced. "I thought when your species melded you could actually see as well as hear things?" He pointed out. "But you said you only heard the voice."

"That is because the memory, is only that of a voice." Liara supplied.

Sabrina shook her head. "No," speaking up for the first time since the Asari left her mind. "There was a body. A form. I don't know why you couldn't see it, or where I was at the time," she said. "The memory is as clear as day for me."

Liara swore softly as the timer dinged for the first pizza.

Vega chuckled. "First you can't get into their mind, and now you can't see inside their head," he chuckled again. "Maybe you're losing your touch Doc," the Latino teased.

Hawke shook her head. "No, I don't think it's you," the rogue stated as she went over to where the pizza was.

It smelled much better now than it had earlier. "Probably just didn't want to reveal himself to you," she said with a shrug. "It was a very pretty place though. Now that I think about it, it was made of star metal like your Citadel just...much smoother...and not white."

"A station? You were on a station?" Liara asked loudly.

"No, not a station," the rogue responded as Vega cut her a slice and put it on a plate for her. "It was a palace. Towers higher than the walls on any castle I've ever seen," came the confession, jerking her hand away from the molten cheese, and popping her finger in her mouth.

She paused. "Now that I stop and think about it the doors opened kinda like the ones in the ship," she pointed out.

Shepard suddenly started chuckling walking away from Liara, clearly on her own train of thoughts.

"Could have it been an active Prothean ruin?" Ashley asked. "I mean, the bunker we found on Ilos could have been one many. The entire remaining Prothean Race could have tried the Cyro-Pod idea. Some, might have survived."

"_Uh-oh. I know that look."_ Joker voiced. "_Careful Hawke. I think you just became the Doc's newest project."_ getting laughs from the others in the room.

"He doesn't have a body," Sabrina said, removing her finger from her mouth. "Not like we do. We're...solid I guess would be the word," she added. "He was not. It was like...it's like being really tired but if the right person comes around your tiredness goes away and you're just...energized."

"Was it a hologram?" Liara asked raising her Omni-Tool and creating a projection of a person. "Something like this?"

Hawke carefully took a bite of her pizza. It was good...but then she hissed when the cheese got stuck to her lip. "No, not that," she answered, before swallowing. "It was like...those things we hit to go even faster.

If you took that glowing blue light from the center and made a body out of it," she attempted to explain, though without any of them being able to see what she was talking about she knew it would be a challenge for them.

"A body made of Eezo?" Ashley asked the question this time. "Like some sort of specter?"

Sabrina shrugged. "This...is really...good Vega..." She said to the cook and she devoured her slice. "More?"

"Hey, hey, let everyone have a slice first. James chuckled handing out the rest to everyone else but Garrus. "Your's will be a couple minutes there Scars." he laughed, Garrus shook his head.

"If you don't mind me changing the subject." Bethany started. "I wanted to know if your people are doing anything to help...cure the Adart-Yakshi."

Liara fell silent.

"_Well there goes Liara's appetite."_

"It depends how you wish to look at it." Liara said softly. "We...are trying to...breed them out..."

Even Sabrina winched from that one. "I think...I think I just lost my appetite," she told the chef as she halted in her attempt to grab another slice.

"Why?" Bethany asked after a few moments. The air, once light was now heavy with the conversation topic.

"You must understand. The abilities of an Adart-Yakshi cannot be controlled, my people have tried, otherwise they would have been powerful assets for our military. This ability of theirs. It becomes an addiction, one that cannot be controlled like an addiction to Red Sand. Their desires to meld grows with each victim, leaving terrible body counts behind them."

"I am trying to," Bethany confessed, trying to wrap her head around it. "It's just...you said your kind live for a long time...and you haven't found a...better way to help them?"

"It only affects just a mere one percent of our population, and this...condition...if you may - has existed as long as the asari, it's only found in purebloods, and our numbers are dwindling. The problem is slowly solving itself with each generation."

It started to make sense to Bethany now, the Ardat-Yakshi were vastly different that the mages, a much larger threat. The function of the monastery itself was the only similarity she would find.

"So what makes an Asari not a pureblood?" The tattooed Hawke questioned the scientist.

Cortez chuckled. "Bet it's been a long time since you've answered this many questions huh Doc," he teased the blue skinned woman.

Liara shook her head as the original SR-1 crew chuckled.

"It has to do with our parents." Liara started with a soft smile.


	20. Not Chapter 20 - Author's Note

Okay Readers, I've finally hit breaking point, OffMyLeash has put it in her perspective, but face it. The last ten days I've been watching more Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters and Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger rather than working on Chapter 20.

Well 20 is out there somewhere across the platforms, I know it's finished, but I just can't bring myself to put it together.

Lately I've been getting a lot of negative feedback, (I had an annon blantanly call this story a piece of crap or something just as awful.) Yes, there is some positive, but I'm sure we can guess what has been outweighing the other. I enjoy working on this story, hell, you wouldn't believe how much of Act 2 and Citadel DLC has been written already, it's just this ME3 gap and the 'crisis' point we reached about five chapters back. We can't bring new readers past chapter 15, and the hate is all directed at Shepard.

I love my Shepard...as flawed as she is, she is no Paragon of Justice.

Basically, I'm just going to put this out here. We (OffMyLeash and myself) can just continue onwards with what we got or reduce this story back down to Chapter 1, I'll go through and edit each chapter, limiting the 'stupidity' that Shepard's team has expressed throughout Act 1 and nerf Carver and Shepard's irrationality in Arc 2.

Or I can just take it down and let OffMyLeash and I continue our stupidity on our own time to our own pleasure.

Thursday is when OffMyLeash is done school and I hope to be ahead of the game for my Ottawa ComicCon plans, that's when things will be decided.

I'm like a child, I need positive reinforcement to continue what I love, whether it's stupid little Achievements and Trophies from my 360/PS3, a short little 'good job' or the same old 'update soon'. I _understand _the flaws and mistakes made here and we're trying to improve but if you have a goddamn problem you want to address, _leave a goddamn signed review!_

The new screenname isn't me trying to hide. It's laughing at a goddamn anon telling me how Canadians should and should not speak. I _bleed_ Red, White and Maple Syrup... just... don't get me started.

Sorry guys, but that's why I broke the update schedule, we're still writing, but nothing relevant to current events.


	21. Chapter 21

OffMyLeash AN: _*clap...clap...clap*_ Bravo people. I'll admit a lot of your reviews surprised me. A lot of you have strong reasons why this story should stay and what could be improved on...you were honest and thoughtful in your response.

In truth, how you responded to the note, should be the same response you tackle future chapters with.

Don't get me wrong I'm not opposed to criticism and giving us helpful feedback to improve the story, but I am opposed to when personal preference gets confused with_ constructive_ criticism. Part of my major (all of it actually) involves viewing other people's work and offering input. That being said I am aware that there are things I am automatically biased against (Like if a person used red instead of blue because that's what I would have used) however, I don't let what I would /not/ have done be a reason to trash the piece. Just because its not something I would have done doesn't make it any less than what it is, nor does it deserve to be downed based on my personal preferences.

We've established things that happened in previous chapters but as stated those moments were needed and kudos to the reviewers who understood that (despite outlandish methods used to convey the point). I can't speak for FC but if given the chance I would_ not_ go back and change anything because it works to show that characters aren't perfect and that their methods won't always be well received (which is OKAY).

So, if you want to see this story continue to evolve tell us in a constructive way, not through whining (I'm going to stop reading and Shepard would need do that and wahh wah wah). And, if possible can we get reviews that aren't always talking about Shepard? She isn't the only character you know, though that's hard to tell considering a majority of the reviews focus on her (especially within this arc) and in truth it's a little annoying. In all for having a character that sticks out but geez I'll even take a line about another character if just to know how you feel about the other characters and their responses and interactions within the world and with the crew members.

Finally, again while not speaking for FC I don't think guest reviews should be turned off. Yes, people troll reviews (as they do with anything on the Internet) but I personally don't think it would be fair to guest reviewers who genuinely like the story and want us to know how they feel about it.

Yeah so that's my say about all of this. It's good to know that you all are enjoying the story-especially considering how this thing jumped in reviews in only 4/5 days. And if this not comes off as sarcastic or angry or as of I'm calling you 'a bunch of whiny little twats' sorry but OffMyLeash is not in the happiest of places right now and I don't think I will be for a few days ^^; but I still wanted to write this note anyway.

* * *

False Canadian AN: Hawke, she's talkin' about Hawke. Anyway, thanks for all the love and support guys, I was really only expecting five or six to continue with the flow of previous averages and we revived a massive count of 37, I wasn't even _aware_ we had that many readers. Thanks guys, for the love and support. While a small part of me wishes to edit, I've decided not to, what's done is done, and we're not even halfway through this story. (So I'll continue on working on my N7 Armour for this year's conventions)

I've decided to enable this weird new anon moderation thingy, so trolls begone! And regular anon reviewers may continue reviewing.

Thanks again, and let us resume our regular scheduled program. (With a much slower update pace.) Because I'm a jackass who waited until the month the con before to work on my goddamn armour!

_Gaburichomp!_

* * *

"Goddess..." Liara breathed out as she entered into her cabin, with her bondmate following behind her. "I haven't been asked that many questions...was I like that when we first met?"

"No... not really." Shepard smiled. "But when I asked questions you when straight into your people's mating patterns. You didn't this time. So..." Shepard stopped, hands wrapping around Liara from behind. "That's an improvement on your part."

Her words causing Liara to flush. "And to think...our children will be just as curious," she remarked with a chuckle. "I should have directed their attention toward you."

Shepard chuckled softly as her hands rose up to undo the collar of Liara's jacket. "Yes, but they are going to be the daughters of two of the galaxy's mightiest heroes, and their large extended Normandy family will be there to teach them." Shepard said softly. "Ashley and Garrus, to shoot, Tali, to hack, Uncle Urdnot? To headbutt."

"_Uncle Joker to teach them humour." _the pilot supplied.

Shepard raised her hand slightly. Disabling the camera and comms that watched over the Shadow Broker's Lair, locking the door at the same time. "See, we won't have to worry. I bet Sam will even teach them how to play chess."

"They'll have the galaxy at their little blue fingertips," the marine added. Shepard's name, her first name, escaped Liara's lips as the Commander's lips touched the blue skin of the asari's neck.

"They'll be the most valuable children in the galaxy," the scientist stated as she leaned back into the touch.

"Indeed." Shepard whispered against Liara's skin as she started working off the Shadow Broker's jacket. "The galaxy we saved for them."

Liara chuckled. "And..." Turing in her lover's hold. "They'll be the most protected."

"As long as I still breathe." Shepard whispered before capturing Liara's lips.

Her hands moving to Liara's ass and hefting the older woman up. The Shadow Broker's legs coming to wrap around her midsection; as she led the two of them towards the bed to continue their activity.

* * *

Carver looked up when he heard footsteps. He wasn't sure how long he'd been imprisoned here; but, he'd come to learn that yelling and shouting yielded no results.

So, the Templar had contented himself with the Chant of Light.

"Right this way ma'am." said a voice Carver faintly recognized. That Williams woman. Eventually he saw the woman and his own mother.

"I'll leave you two to it," Ashley said, sensing that this was a moment not for her. She turned and moved to wait in the following room, still within earshot.

"Mother." Carver finally spoke after a moment of silence.

"Carver," Leandra responded as she approached the glass. "I think, you and I need to talk," though it sounded rhetorical, it was not.

She was stating a fact.

"What is there to talk about?" Carver pretended not to know what she meant, as he turned away from her. "I have already seen enough." he added, in a way that was meant to dismiss her.

Out of all the people who wanted to speak to him-which the list was already short-his mother was the last person he wanted to see, let alone talk to. Not that he did not wish to speak with her; but, it was rather he did not wish to have this particular conversation with her.

She shook her head. "My son, there is plenty to talk about," she responded. "Starting with you shooting your sister for starters."

He said nothing for a few moments. "Just...go away mother," he requested with a sigh, back still to her.

"Carver," Leandra repeated her only son's name. This time he did not acknowledge her. She shook her head as a sigh escaped her own lips. "Very well, I will leave you then," she said as she headed for the exit to the room. "You're trying to escape from your difficulties, and there never is any escape from difficulties, never. They have to be faced and fought. If you build the guts to do something, anything, then you better save enough to face the consequences.

You can run but sooner or later you run out of places to run to," the golden eyed mother told him. "Because, my son, the only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.

The risk to remain tight in a bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom."

Once she was finished speaking she left the room, nodding to Williams on her way out, before she took to the stairs and headed back up to the higher levels. Ashley leaned back and forth between the two rooms for a moment before taking a step in to stand before Carver's cell.

"I don't know you, you don't know me." she started looking at the boy, at least Shepard was nice enough to give him fresh clothing. "What is it that you have against my society?"

He was silent so long that she thought he was going to ignore her as well. Just as she turning to leave the room he gave an answer. "Your...society...is filled with abominations, you deny are not so, and magics which you claim are not so.

Everything about your society is what the Chant of Light preaches against, because it is due to those things that the Maker turned his gaze away from us," he told her. "Because man attempted and succeeded in treading where only the dead were allowed."

"I''m sorry..." Ashley scratched the back of her head as she interrupted him. "But when did you start mixing Religion and Mythology?"

A frown came upon his face as he turned around to look at her. "I speak the truth," he stated firmly.

Ashley shook her head softly. "Kid, you know there are countless beliefs out there, right? Yes, I won't hate on your for being a sound believer in your faith, but..." she paused. "There is being a believer, and there are extremists." she crossed her arms. "You have to take a step back, look at the world beyond your own. Believe in your own God, yes, but understand that there are other deities out there as well."

"I am aware that there are other beliefs out there. Where I hail from there are many," Carver informed her, slightly surprised that she wasn't hopping down his throat like a majority of the others that served under Shepard's command. "And the Chantry teaches that the Maker will return his gaze upon us once the Chant of Light is sang from all the corners of the world." he told her, as he folded his arms. "We suffer because mages wanted to touch heaven while they still breathed and sit upon the Maker's throne.

As punishment, the once Golden City turned black and they were cast back to the land as the first Darkspawn and have been a plague among us ever since," the younger of the two added. "Magic is meant to serve man, not control or rule over him."

"I need to stop you right there." Ashley raised her hand before dropping it gently and sighing in defeat. "Do you know why man wanted to fly? Because we wanted to touch the heavens. There are countless stories telling us against it, most that I do not even know, get too close to the sun and you'll burn. We still did it, now we're no longer bound by our homeworld.

Carver, there are times you need to look beyond your bible and accept what is placed before you-"

"But that's just it!" he shouted, cutting her off. He sounded completely frustrated, and the look on his face helped. "Ever since I have been brought to this...place," gesturing around to not only the cell but the ship, and their style of living in general. "Everyone has been at my throat for not accepting what is before me.

I am attacked for my faith and for not simply swallowing everything I have seen," he pointed out. "Yet, no one has attempted to see things from my point of view. I am not the only one of my homeworld to think as such. There, my sisters are the ones who are shunned because they do not think like the rest of us.

So tell me why should I simply accept what is presented to me when everything I have been taught is to be cautious and untrusting of what you show me?" came the question as his golden eyes focused on her. "How can you simply assume it should be easy, or that I should bite my tongue in the face of it all?"

"_Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." _Ashley quoted almost sourly.

"That was one of the first things God has taught us, and from the stories I've heard, you have done nothing but worship your God. We don't care if you're accepting of us or not, but you have shown no compassion for your siblings or the Captain of this ship." she banged against the bars of the cell once. "I know it takes time to look beyond the teachings of the church, and I'm not asking you to forget them because of what we have, but to remember what else you have been taught. Your entire religion cannot be focused on the containment of mages surely."

"It is the Chantry's responsibility to spread the Chant of Light to all four corners of the world, even the non-humans, because they need saving and have turned even further from the Maker's grace than humans have," the younger man explained to her. "It is the Templar Order that focuses on mages. Not only does our duty require us to hunt apostates and maleifcar, and watch over the mages within the Circle we also serve as defenders.

We are an army unto ourselves, being well-equipped, highly disciplined and devoted to the destruction of non-believers in the name of the Maker," he continued. "This is our task. This is our burden and it is not for the weak of heart or faith."

"Also, what you said...I am unfamiliar with what you chanted," Carver confessed as he searched his memory to be certain. "It does not exist within the Chant of Light. What is it?"

"The New Testament, Gospel of Mark." Ashley responded casually. "Not that I have the entire bible memorized, I'm not that crazy."

_Considering how you defended Udina, I'd say that's debatable,_ Joker said dryly over the comm system.

Ashley pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, so Skipper and I are pretty much in the same insanity boat in the SpecTRe Kiddy Pool." she waved her hand slightly. "I'm just trying to say, there are different religions out there, but all of them pretty much have the same rules, commandments, if you may, so, does your Chant of Light have one?"

The imprisoned templar just looked at her strangely. "Commandments?" he echoed the word as if it were foreign to him, and in a way it was.

"Oh dear Lord." Ashley sighed as she paced around. "Is your Chantry entirely based around the Chant of Light and mages? That... that's not a way of life, that's a doctrine. I think..." she paused. "Honour thy mother and thy father?" she tested the waters."

The male Hawke just stared at her,giving her a look that asked if those words should mean something to him.

"Thou shalt not kill, steal or commit adultery?" she asked again, skirting around the commandments about one god and false gods.

"Should what you say have some type of meaning to me?" Carver asked, noticing how her pacing had picked up speed. "I already told you what both the Chantry and the Templar Order stand for and expect of their followers and those who take their vows."

"I can't do this... God, I can't do this." Ashley muttered to herself as she looked at Carver. "This is why I don't like talking religion Commander." she hissed looking up at the ceiling. "Remind me to never go near a Chantry if we ever visit Kirkwall." she stopped pacing for a moment and adjusted the collar of her jacket, suddenly cluing in. "Garrus told me about what happened between you and Bethany, does this entire conversation we just had have to do with it?"

Her question caught him off guard. Not only her asking it, but also how she didn't immediately want to kill him for his action toward his youngest sister. He couldn't help shifting on his feet and casting his eyes away from her.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he ran a hand through his hair-the same action that Sabrina did before she attempted to answer something heavy. "You must understand, I grew up surrounded by magic, not only is Bethany a mage but our father was as well," he informed her. "While I never truly understood it, I never saw it as something to be feared...until we came to Kirkwall.

During our first year in the city I saw the darker side of magic from the blood mages that infest the city. They use even their own blood, or the blood of others to fuel their spells-making them more powerful-and allowing them to summon demons or control the mind of another," came the explanation. "However, using blood magic is treacherous because it opens the Veil fully and allows demons to enter into the realm of the living.

The Chantry has gone through great lengths to ban blood magic, suppressing study and condemning uses, and hunt relentlessly for apostates because they feel that any mage left unsupervised either by the Chantry or the Templars they will eventually succumb to the use of blood magic."

"I think I understand what you are saying, but at the same time, I see that it's all based off assumption." Ashley responded. "Let's put this into context. Let's say Blood Magic was a gun, seeing that you are familiar with it. A weapon that can be used to protect, to hunt, to harm innocents. Just because someone owns a gun, will that automatically mean they will become a killer?"

_The same can be said of the weapons the Hawke siblings possess_, EDI chimed in. _The weapons serve multiple functions, but does that mean the owners of the weapons will go and kill innocents?_

Carver was silent. He'd never really thought about it that way before; it...it made sense. "No," he answered after a few moments. "Just because we all possess weapons does not mean we'll be killers. However," he continued before Ashley had a chance to speak. "Unlike Bethany, Sabrina and I can put our weapons away...our youngest sister cannot put away her magic."

"That does not make a difference." Ashley put her foot down, so to speak. "You possess the weapon like how your sister possess magic, like how I possess a gun, how Shepard has her tech and biotics. You have it, you can use it. doesn't matter if the safety is on, or if it's sheathed." she shook her head. "The way your laws see it, the moment you possess magic, you are automatically a killer."

"Because they are forever connected to the Fade!" Carver shouted as he began to pace. "If they weren't connected to it even while awake, if magic wasn't responsible for the blight and the Maker turning his gaze away from us, then the Circle wouldn't be needed and-"

"Take God out of the equation!" Ashley snapped. "You can't say that everything is God's will!" she snarled. "I am a believer in my faith, yes, but there are times where it is not His doing! It's mankind! So answer my question! Without using God as an excuse!"

"Fear!" he shouted, turning suddenly to look at the second human SpecTRe. "That is why mages are hunted down and forced to submit to being controlled!" he answered. "As to what the Chantry teaches, or what the Order represents I can honestly say I don't know how to feel about it because the truth is, I did what I did not out of fear, not because I've seen what mages are capable of, but because I wanted to hurt my sister!" he admitted with a mighty roar, panting heavily as he confessed to his true motives.

Ashley was silent as she took a step back, like an interrogator who had just won her match.

"And you wonder why Shepard doesn't like you, why the rest of the crew is against you." she spoke softly. "Shepard never had a true family, but she had those who came in at a close second." she started to say. "Two years ago she told me what had happened during one of our long, drawn out conversations we used to have on the SR-1. She used to have someone she saw as a younger sister in the old group of, runaways, she grew up with." she explained. "All of them were outlaws you could say, and towards the end one of them turned in that friend of hers for his own personal benefit.

She killed him with her own hands before fleeing to the Alliance." Ashley told him. "So think, what do you think Bethany reminds her of?"

"...the girl," he whispered, earning a nod from the Lt. He chuckled and shook his head, "I did what I did without a thought to how anyone else would feel. I didn't care how losing her youngest daughter would hurt mother, after she and father had spent their entire lives protecting Bethany from templars and a life within the Circle. I didn't care how being brought to the Circle, especially after living an entire life of freedom would affect Bethany, even though I was aware of her fear of someday being captured. Didn't even think of your leader.

All I cared about was hurting my sister, and I knew that was through Bethany, because Sabrina is, and always will be, sympathetic toward mages because of our background," he remarked. "I feel she allows her sympathies to blind her toward the dangers...some...of them pose, and I knew going for Bethany would be a powerful blow, and joining the Templars would only add to that."

Another sigh escaped him as he leaned back against a wall before sliding down onto the floor.

Ashley moved to sit down on the floor in front of him. "The Commander has made an offer to your younger sister. To allow her to escape the Circle and join the Normandy family. If you know what's right for her, you will not stop her."

Carver said nothing, simply allowing her words to roll around in his head.

"I have three younger sisters Carver. I'll do everything and anything in my power to protect them, just like your older sister. Are you going to do the same, or are you going to let your feelings towards your older sister blind you?"

He turned away from her. "If it is all the same to you...I am finished speaking for the time being," he told her. "There are...many things on my mind," he added. Things that were there due to their conversation.

"If you want to talk again, I'm here on the ship, just ask EDI to call for me, a lot of us on this ship are listeners, as dysfunctional as this family is." Ashley said as she stood up and left, leaving Carver alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Sabrina paused in her task of shovelling food into her mouth. "You're staring Serah," she pointed out the woman in the S1 uniform, who had entered into the mess hall not that long ago.

Ashley had taken a seat directly across from her and just sat there, quietly observing.

"Is there something I can help you with?" came the question, as she rammed the forkful into her mouth.

"I was talking with your brother." Ashley said curtly. "I think I got more out of him than anyone else on this ship has."

The younger woman swallowed. "I'm glad he has found someone to talk to," sounding nothing but genuine with her words. "We all need someone to talk to," she added.

"I know this isn't really my place to ask. I know Shepard keeps a rather open policy but the Alliance doesn't." Ashley sighed. "I believe in God, your brother, the Maker and you, I've heard your say Creators here and there." she started to list. "We've all heard Liara swear 'by the Goddess, Turians and Quarians have their own belief systems as well.

I just want to know, what are the major religions your people have?"

"For humans it is the Chantry, its followers known as Andrastians," the rogue answered. "For the elves, they are considered to be pagan because of their lifestyles and their belief in the 'Creators', while the dwarves are seen as venerate because they believe in 'The Stone', and the Qunari are followers of the 'Qun'...the list goes on really," came the additional comment. "At best, the Chantry is seen as the major religion in Thedas at least and they feel all other religions are very...sinful, I guess would be the term, and see it as their job to convert all others to their belief."

"No. It's fair." Ashley said. "There is a commandment stated that we cannot believe in another God but our one true God, for the others are false." she told Hawke. "But we humans have countless deities."

"Deities are the elves thing," Sabrina responded as she took in another three forkfuls. "Did you really come here to talk religion with me?" she asked curiously. "Not that I mind or anything but it's just so odd of a thing to discuss I suppose."

"I'm trying to get a grasp on your brother, and to see if the stories I've been told were blown out of proportion or not. He is quick to say things were the Maker's will, when really, it was not God's fault." Ashley said. "I did tell him about Shepard's offer."

The tattooed female paused in her eating. She then placed an elbow on the table, before resting her head on her hand. "In order to better understand Carver, you have to first understand our religious history," she told the older woman. "Since you mentioned the Maker I take it he told you some of the religious beliefs?"

"Honesty, I could hardly call it a religion, the way he described it to me." Ashley admitted. "Everything was mages this, darkspawn that. Nothing about what good the Maker has done for His people...

It was like... what would have happened if Hitler wrote the Bible." she joked idly.

"I cannot say I am familiar with the terms you are using Serah," the light skinned woman admitted sheepishly. "But, I do have books if you wish to read them. It would help you understand better than I can explain them.

It would serve as a starting point at least."

"It's fine, I rather not." Ashley said as she stood up. "I've had enough religion debates to satisfy me until the end of the war. Hopefully the Commander will be back soon from that mining company and we can get back to what really needs to be done."

* * *

"Blueberry," Hawke called as she pounded on Liara's door. "Blueberry are you in there?" she called as she continued her knocking. The door wouldn't open and the holographic lock was still glowing a bright angry red. She started pounding at the door again as Garrus came out of the Main Battery, having heard the noise.

"If she hasn't answered, she's either in a call or not in the room." Garrus crossed his arms.

"I believe the doctor went down to engineering," Chakwas supplied as she stepped out of the medbay, also due to the pounding. "I think she had an interview with Miss Allers if I recall her saying correctly."

Garrus gave a nod. "Then that's where you're likely to find her Hawke," the turian said, turning his gaze back to the Fereldan.

"Why does Blueberry always lock her door?" Sabrina asked him as she prepared to walk in the direction of the elevator. "I think Goldie Locks is the only person who has been inside.

What's in there?" she asked curiously, eyeing the door and wondering how long it would take her to get the lock open.

"That's a holographic magnetic lock there Hawke." Garrus said pointing at the door. "Shepard's creation, you'll have a hard time breaking through that."

"As an Information Broker, Doctor T'Soni has a fair bit of sensitive equipment, and many secrets held." Chakwas said "If you're not allowed in, you're not allowed in."

The rogue nodded but she was not deterred from the information. If anything, she was just made even more curious by what was on the other side of Liara's door. "I'll go check Engineering," she said before taking her leave.

* * *

"Excellent Doctor T'Soni, getting a larger insight on the Protheans is just what I needed."

"It was no problem Miss Allers." Liara smiled softly in return. "A little history here and there is a nice change to any form of programming."

The reporter nodded. "And the viewers will love it as well," she added as she typed onto a data pad.

"What is this?" Came the question, gaining the two females attention, as they saw Hawke. Who was poking curiously at the camera that floated around, completely fascinated by it.

"Ah, the humans I can, in no way, talk about." Diana smiled. "That is a video camera."

Sabrina poked at the lens, watching as the device lowered a bit from the touch. "What does it do?" head moving to follow it as it floated around her. Just as curious about her as she was about it.

"It records and plays back footage." Liara said. "Much like what you saw from Shepard's Helm Cam."

"Oh, if only I didn't have that restriction on me," Allers commented as she observed Hawke. "Humans who exist on another planet that don't come from Earth. That's right up there with the discovery of the Reapers," she added. "Talking about being the most enviable reporter in the galaxy."

"Sadly it's been covered up by the Alliance." Liara said. "It's been designated a non-habitable."

"Doesn't mean I can't pick the kid's brain while she's here," Allers responded.

"Chakwas told me you were down here Blueberry," Sabrina said having lost interest in the camera, now focusing on the asari. "I wanted to talk to you," the human added still looking a tad sheepish.

"Mind if I take notes?" Diana asked, Liara waved her off.

"What about?"

A shrug. "Anything really," came the response.

A silence between the three of them.

"You're uncomfortable," Sabrina stated, taking in not only Liara's response but the slight drop in her shoulders. "I will go elsewhere then. I did not mean to-"

"No, no it's... it's fine. We can go to the upper decks." Liara said

"Hey no need to go running off now," Allers said with a grin as she eyed Hawke like a vulture. "No harm in conversations among friends," her investigative journalism itching to come out. Shepard had forbidden her from mentioning the Hawkes, but she hasn't forbidden her from getting to know them. "So..." Allers began, gaining attention.

"Hawke..." she continued. "You must be around... 26, 28? How long have you been active...what is it you do?"

The tattooed female shook her head. "I am only 22," she informed the reporter. "As for the rest of your question...I do not understand it."

"22. That's as surprising as Doctor T'Soni's 109." Allers smiled. "What is your profession?"

Hawke have her a curious look. "I am a rogue," she answered.

"Like an N7 Shadow Infiltrator." Liara clarified. "More swords, less bullets."

"Rumour has it that your sister can perform unusual biotic and tech feats without the aid of Omni-Tools or amps."

"My sister is a mage," Hawke clarified. "And as I am coming to understand, far different from your biotics."

"Goddess..." Liara sighed as the two went on.

* * *

"And this is...fun for you?" Bethany inquired as she watched Samantha move a glowing-which the Brit had informed her was holographic-piece forward. "It's so...slow," she pointed out after searching for the proper word.

"Of course." Sam smiled. "I like the challenge, keeps you on your toes." she said as the VI moved the opposing piece. "It's a great strategy game, unless you're Commander Shepard, she more of the charging Krogan-Type."

"I still cannot understand the purpose of this game," the mage confessed as she tried once more to follow along but still ended up lost, as her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Why does it take so long to move? And why do the little pieces only go forward one time but the bigger pieces can go everywhere? Shouldn't they all be able to move the same way and-"

"Bethany." Sam called her name to stop her from continuing. "That's what's make this a challenge. Tabletop warfare on an eight by eight grid. It's only take so slow because of the bloody VI!" she kicked the table once as her knight moved to capture a pawn.

A light blush came onto the younger woman's cheeks. "I-I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm just not used to something so slow. It's always fast and rapid where I come from," she explained a tad shyly.

"No, no, the game is much faster with a proper timer and a solid board." Sam said, "Unless you're talking about other strategy games."

A shake of the head. "I have never seen any game like this before from where I hail from," she told the dark skinned woman. "I don't think it even exists. Not surprising. The people of the land are more action and fighting than sitting down and staring really hard at the pieces like you do."

"Hey!" Sam took mock offence at that. "What? You'd rather play Go-Fish?"

Bethany gave her a curious look. "You...want to go fishing?" she asked slowly, clearly not understanding the quip.

"Wow..." Sam showed an expression of surprise. "We have much to teach you." The VI taking the time to move it's rook forward.

_Check mate_, it said, drawing the comm's specialist's attention.

"What!? No! That can't be right!" she pretty much wailed as she looked over the board. "Damnit! There goes my streak! To a bloody VI!"

Bethany glanced between the wailing Traynor and the board. "Can...can I play?" she asked, gesturing to the other side that was empty. That stopped Traynor in her tracks.

"Yeah, if you want. I can teach you as we go."

The golden eyed female smiled from that as she moved to sit across from the older woman. With a wave of her hand, Samantha reset the game-the pieces returning to their original position and side.

"I've noticed," Bethany began as she watched Traynor make the first move. "Your tongue is different from the others. So where do you hail from?" she asked curiously as Samantha withdrew her hand, signaling it was the youngest Hawke's turn.

"I was born on Horizon, but both my my parents are from London, I went to school there before joining the Alliance full time." Samantha explained.

Following the colony kid's example, Bethany moved a little piece, except she ended up moving it three spaces instead of the one or two allowed when moving them from their original position. "Are Lawndon and Horizon both from Earth?" she asked, looking over at her opponent, though Samantha was more of her teacher since the younger woman had no idea what she was doing.

"No." Sam said as she reached over and moved Bethany's piece back one square. "Pawn's can only move two spaces forward on their first turn, after that, one space forward. They can only attack diagonally." she explained quickly. "I'll turn on the training mode, it will light up what squares you can move to." she said. "London is on Earth, but Horizon is another planet in the Shadow Sea Nebula."

"Sorry," Bethany apologized as Samantha brought up her Omni-Tool and typed on it. When Bethany touched a piece she saw the board light up just like the specialist said; she let it go because it was not her turn. "Do all humans leave earth and go to places like Horizon?" came the next question.

"Most do, some don't." Samantha said. "My parents left because they wanted a quieter life on the Colonies, Earth has become very crowded over the years, everything is developed, if you want a quiet country life, the colonies is the best place to go. Lieutenant Vega was born on Earth, Lieutenant Commander Williams is a colony kid. I believe both Joker and Shepard were spacer kids at birth, but I might be wrong with the Commander."

A nod from the taller woman. "My birth home, Lothering, was quiet," she told the dark skinned female as Samantha thought about her next move. "There weren't many people. It was a relatively small village.

It was very peaceful," she added, a nostalgic smile coming on to her lips as she thought about the place of her birth. Before being taken to the Circle, her brother becoming a templar, before Kirkwall and fleeing from the blight there was Lothering.

Peaceful, unchanging Lothering.

"You might find something like that out in the colonies, once the war is over." Sam said as she moved her knight forward. "They aren't very big, most of them are just farming colonies, but you have to watch out for raiders and mercenaries. Several colonies have fallen to Slavers."

Bethany responded by moving her pawn, on the far left, forward two spaces. "Lothering was peaceful, but my siblings and I were not," the golden eyed woman responded with a chuckle. "We were always off getting into things. I don't think I have a single memory of my sister and brother leaving home clean and not returning dirty and with ripped clothes."

"I am an only child, I don't have any comparable memories." Sam said as she moved another piece forward.

Another chuckle from the mage. "I can't envision my life without them...even Carver, at odds as we may be," she responded as she moved a center rogue forward one space. "Are you close to your parents?"

"I was." Samantha admitted. "I lost my mother when the Collectors attacked Horizon, my father and I would have died too if it wasn't for Shepard's impeccable timing."

"She saved you?" came the inquiry, earning a nod from the specialist. "Not surprising. She and my sister seem to do that quite often," giving the older woman a smile which Traynor returned. "If you don't mind me asking...what happened?"

"I don't know. To be honest with you. I didn't even know it was Shepard who had saved us until I joined the Normandy." she said. "Funny thing was, Lieutenant Commander Williams was there too at the time. The Collectors struck without warning, harvested half of the colony before Shepard chased them out."

"I'm sorry for you loss," Bethany said with sincerity. "But at least Shepard managed to save some people, even if it wasn't all of them."

"It's okay, we're all doing what we can to end this war." Samantha said as she heard the bay doors start to lower on the Normandy as the Kodiak returned to ship. "Looks like Shepard's back."

Golden eyes shifted to the newly returned shuttle. "Do you think it went well?" she asked the comm specialist. Traynor frowned when the doors opened and Shepard was the first one out, looking more upset than anything else.

"No, I don't think it did." she responded as they watched Shepard storm off, not even bothering to removed her armour, with Vega and EDI stepping out of the shuttle not long after her. "That bad huh?"

"There were unforeseen complications," EDI responded as she made her way over to the pair. "Garneau, the real Garneau, had been dead for quite some time. The people of the mining facility have been under indoctrination for the last ten years."

Samantha gasped. "We notified Alliance," Vega spoke up."They'll be sending shuttles to get the works and attempt to help them cope not only with the time jump, but also the war. Can't say it will be an easy road for them," he marine added with a slight shake of his head.

"Not it won't." Samantha sighed. "Ten years? That's unbelievable."

"Whatever it is that we're looking for, is more powerful than any Reaper we've seen." EDI stated. "We must remain on guard."

It was then that Vega noticed the chessboard. "Our little British nerd spreading the love," he teased. "Seriously Sam, is this how you pick up girls? Show them your chessboard?"

"Almost worked on Shepard." Samantha winked before chuckling. "I'm going to go check on the Commander. We can continue the game when we get back." she nodded at Bethany before leaving to follow the Commander.

* * *

"Sooo...I take it things didn't go so well down below?" Hawke said as she saw the Commander storm into the mess hall, ending the conversation that she, T'Soni, Allers, and Williams were having.

She also spotted Traynor trailing behind the redhead.

"Garneau's dead!" Shepard snapped throwing her hands up. "This Leviathan thing had the entire goddamn asteroid under some fucked up indoctrination spell for the last ten fucking years! I don't even know what we're hunting anymore!"

Liara was quite to rise from her seat and approach her bondmate. Placing a hand on the woman's armoured covered shoulder in an attempt to sooth the younger woman. "So we have no leads?" came her question, looking at the taller woman.

"We got his files." Shepard admitted. "But we have to find Doctor Bryson's daughter, she's our only hope left." she said. "I just hope she's still alive."

_Might I suggest returning to Dr. Bryson's lab?_ EDI suggested. _We might be able to find a lead to her whereabout there._

"EDI does have a point Commander," Williams agreed, backing up the AI's suggestion. "Going back to the start always yields new results."

"Hey, what's this floating ball?" Sabrina asked curiously, as she noticed it appear seemingly out of nowhere.

_Hello Hawke,_ it greeted her, as it floated up to her eye level. _I am the personal assistant of Doctor T'Soni. She has many files on you and your family...many of which hold anomalies, such as you come from another race of humans not native to earth and that you are part animal,_ it said, causing a slight flush to come onto the rogue's cheeks.

Liara was studying them?

_My name is-_

"Glyph." Liara growled softly. "What did I say about leaving the cabin?"

_I detected an anomaly, and further investigation was needed, _the drone countered as he scanned over Hawke with a beam.

The same type that was set up before anyone could enter into the CIC.

_Anomaly identified,_ Glyph said. _Unusual energy patterns. I will add the data to the appropriate files._

"Forward the new data to my Omni-Tool and get back into the cabin before you start pissing off EDI." Liara muttered.

_EDI could use my input,_ Glyph said as he forwarded the data. _Syncing my interface with the ship-_

_You will not, _EDI's voice echoed through the ship and Glyph flashed red.

"That is why you are confined to the cabin." Liara sighed.

"Why is he out here?" Ashley asked, the group shrugged their shoulders as Shepard's Omni-Tool beeped, sighing she pulled up the message and quickly scanned it over before swearing loudly and just storming off again.

"Fuck this! Fuck Cerberus! Joker set course for Eden Prime!" Shepard roared as the pilot acknowledged the request everyone else looking at each other in confusion as Ashley's Omni-Tool beeped, she pulled up the message.

_Commander,_

_Cerberus has attacked Eden Prime and is now occupying the colony. Alliance forces are stretched too thin right now to attempt to liberate the colony, but we're doing what we can to covertly aid the local resistance._

_In the process, we've learned that Cerberus has uncovered a major Prothean artifact. We don't know what it is, but it appears to be the reason for the attack on the colony. We need you to infiltrate the colony and recover the artifact. _

"Back to where it all began." Ashley spoke softly before closing the message.


	22. Chapter 22

Slowly Shepard raised her hand over the Cyro Pod, the access hatch opening, allowing her to enter the code the entire pod reacting after accepting the input.

"You got it." Liara said softly as the pod started to open, ice particles mingling with the warm air of Eden Prime. Shepard and Ashley remaining silent as Liara moved closer. "Goddess...an actual living, breathing Prothean..." The scientist exhaled as her eyes studied the ancient alien.

"No wonder Cerberus wanted this guy," Ashley said adjusting her weapon as she glanced around the colony. "The people of Eden Prime certainly can't catch a break," referring to the trouble that just seemed to befall the colony at every turn.

"At least they keep fighting." Shepard told Ashley. "Many are quick to give up."

"Just being here." Ashley sighed. "I can't help but think about the Two-Twelve and Kaidan." She looked over at the Cyro Pod. "I thought it was bad being the sole survivor to my squad... but for your entire race." She looked at the Prothean in almost pity. "There is no comparison.

I mean, that's gotta be rough," the younger SpecTRe added. "And to think, that could very well be one of us if things go very far south."

Before the Commander could respond, Liara beat her to it. "He's waking up!" The blue skinned woman announced excitedly, assuming the Prothean was male.

She was far too excited to care about gender, despite it having no concept to her people.

Looking over, Shepard moved closer to the edge to look into the pod beside Liara. The Prothean started to look around, eyes landing on the two before he snarled. A green glow surrounded him before all three of the Normandy Crew found themselves flying off their feet. Liara landed hard on her knees while Ashley and Shepard found themselves lying spread eagle on the bridge.

As Liara slowly forced herself back up onto her feet she saw that the Prothean had tumbled out of his pod, looking around as he stumbled past Shepard and Ashley.

"Be careful." Liara warned as Shepard rolled onto her feet to follow the newcomer who had stumbled back onto the ground again. She watched as he picked himself back up off the ground, staring out into the distance as Shepard approached him.

"Careful." Liara repeated sharply as Shepard reached out to touch his shoulder "It's been 50,000 years for us, but for him it's only been-"

"_...a few minutes!" the Prothean turned to his VI companion who shook his head in response._

"_No." the VI responded in turn. "The bunker is falling. There is no other option."_

"_There are pods online!" the Prothean snapped angrily. "Those soldiers are still alive!"_

"_Their sacrifice will be honoured in the coming empire." the VI was emotionless as usual, that was how it was programed. "Preparing neutron bombardment. Get to your lifepod now." it said, the Prothean soldier hesitated for a moment before listening, running over to his Cyro Pod and slowly setting himself inside as the doors closed over him, cleaning him in the dark containing space. "Neutron bombardment underway." the VI spoke through the comms in the pod as everything started to shake with the magnitude of a small earthquake._

"_The bunker is secure, Commander." the VI responded once everything came to an end._

"_What is left of it? A few hundred people?" he asked, knowing full well that they could not recover from that, his people would be extinct in just a few short generations. "How am I to rebuild an empire from that?"_

"_Further adjustments may be necessary. The neutron purge compromised the facility."_

"_Clarify."_

"_Sensors are damaged. Automated reactivation is not an option. You will remain in stasis until a new culture discovers this bunker. This may lead to a power shortage." the VI said, the Commander could hear his pod whirring to life at the same time, anger struck him once more._

"_Do not shut off more pods! I need the few that are left!"_

"_Power needs will be triaged appropriately." Damn that VI!_

"_You will be the voice of our people."_

"_I will be more than that."_

Shepard shook her head sharply, pulling her hand back from the Prothean as he fell to his knees, weakness or despair, it was hard to tell.

"How many others?" He asked in fluent English, sounding absolutely defeated.

"Just you." Shepard said, the Prothean moved slowly, seemingly disappointed. "You can understand me?"

"Yes." He said, speaking with what seemed to be an African accent. "Now that I have read your physiology, you nervous system. Enough to understand your language."

"So you were reading me while I was seeing-"

"Our last moments, our failure."

A silence descending over the group from his words. Williams looked to T'Soni; the Alliance Soldier had no idea what to do here. Liara was the Prothean expert.

Liara frowned, shaking her head softly as Shepard slowly start to move to stand in front of the Last Prothean.

"I saw what happened to your people. I know you must be grieving." Shepard said slowly. "They died 50,000 years ago. My people are dying right now." A silence fell between the two of them as the Prothean walked past the Commander, eyes landing on Liara and Ashley.

"Asari, Humans... I'm surrounded by primitives."

"The Reapers are destroying everything," Ashley informed the dark skinned alien. "We need all the help we can get to stop those bastards."

"You fight the Reapers?" He asked the younger SpecTRe, Ashley nodded. He paused for a moment. "Then we will see." He told all three of them, Ashley moved forward, being the closest one to him and held her hand out to him. He looked down at her hand, looked disgusted for a moment before turning away.

This was going to take time.

* * *

"_A living Prothean?"_ Admiral Hackett's hologram looked worried and concerned at the same time, his voice muffled by the hand near his lips. Shepard shook her head slightly.

"That is correct Admiral." She confirmed. "He's not quite what we expected." Shepard admitted, Hackett lowered his arms, the hologram seemingly taking a step forward but never moving.

_"Commander, our scientists haven't had any luck determining what the Catalyst is. If this Prothean can help us construct this device, we need his cooperation."_ He declared, Shepard nodded, silently saying she understood. _"We're losing colonies faster than we can evacuate." _Hackett continued. _"We've never seen a force like the Reapers."_

"He has Admiral."

_"Can he help us?"_

"I intend to find out."

_"Good."_ Hackett probably would have smiled if he was younger, much younger. _"Cerberus slipped up and gave us a new weapon. Don't let it go to waste. Hackett out."_ He turned away, hologram disappearing. Shepard moved to leave but hardly got out of the room before Liara's voice interrupted her over the intercom.

"_Shepard, I need you down by the port cargo hold." _she sounded exasperated_. "it's about our new guest."_

"I'm on my way." Shepard said as she quickly started to move through her ship, running into the two Hawke sisters at the CIC.

"This ship is abuzz with talk of a Pro-thy-an onboard," Sabrina remarked, struggling to pronounce the term. "I hear Blueberry is very excited about that.

With them supposedly being dead and all," the rogue added.

"It's something that was unexpected." Shepard said as she rolled up the sleeves to her hoodie as she moved over to the elevator, signalling for the sisters to follow her. "We were expecting another beacon, to be honest."

A nod from the pair. "I can't imagine the excitement Liara must be feeling right now," Bethany spoke up, as the two entered into the elevator; EDI taking them to where they were needed.. "It's like...as if a tale has come to life," searching for the proper comparison.

The Commander shifted her weight to one side, as she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. "I think right now she might be more frustrated than excited." Shepard said as the elevator doors opened and she saw two of her men standing at the door to the cargo hold holding rifles. The Commander sighed as she walked up to them, they saluted as the door opened to let all three of them in. A heavy fog hung in the room but it was not hard to see Liara's pacing form.

"What's wrong?" Shepard asked the scientist as Liara looked up at her.

"I've tried to make the room more accommodating, but they're not letting me talk to him." She whined and complained at the same time." They looked over at the four armed guards in the room as another approached Liara.

"I'm sorry Doctor. Contact protocol with a new species: "Assume hostility." We had to dust off the regulations." He admitted as they looked over his shoulders. They could see the Prothean kneeling on the floor, facing them, eyes closed, as if he was meditating.

"If I'd want to kill you primitive, you'd be dead already," the Prothean stated as his eyes remained closed. "A Krogan once resided here."

Shepard frowned softly as Liara crossed her arms.

"He's not new." Liara told the guard, trying to act like he had never spoke. "I've spent my life studying Protheans."

"A wasted life." The Prothean muttered. Shepard slowly moved forward.

"At ease." She told her men. "I don't think the Prothean will be a problem." She stopped closer to him as he stood back up, looking at her. "Will he?"

"That depends on you." He spoke, clearly addressing the Commander before lunging forward and grabbing her exposed arms. Shepard seized up and guns were raised as the Prothean closed his eyes.

"For a soldier facing the Reapers, I sense..." He started. "More confidence than fear. You believe you are winning." He said letting Shepard go, she stepped back, he had also mentioned a Krogan, Grunt, just seconds earlier.

"What do you mean, you sense?" She asked, he turned away from her but was still looking at her.

"All life provides clues for those who can read them. It is in your cells, your DNA. Experience is a biological marker." He stopped at one of the water tables in the room and submerged his hands in the cool liquid. Shepard waved her men off.

"So this is a...Pro-thee-an?" Bethany asked softly, having a slightly better time at saying the name than her sister had. A snort from the ancient alien, probably from her mispronunciation.

Golden eyes studying the new alien. Her attention then shifted to Liara. "You made them sound so..." Trailing with her sentence.

When Liara had spoken of the long gone race, the Asari made them seem very dignified; like nobles without the snobbery. Yet, what the Mage saw before her completely contradicted what Liara went on for hours about when prompted.

Though, Bethany supposed his coldness could be blamed upon the Reapers, and the battles he fought in long ago.

"It was mostly speculation." Liara admitted softly as Shepard slowly moved closer to the Prothean. "My people's own views probably influencing my assumption of his species."

"Then what exactly did I experience back on Eden Prime?" She asked him, seemingly ignoring the conversation behind her. "That was one hell of as flashback."

The dark skinned alien let out a sigh, removing his hands from the water to place them on the counter. "The battle left its own mark on me. I communicated this to you. It can work both ways." He said, drawing Liara's attention as she moved forward to stand beside Shepard.

"Like your beacons?" She asked, the Prothean pushed away from the table looking long and hard at Shepard.

"Yes." He said as he raised his hand to the Commander's exposed skin again, the two of them freezing in place for a second before he pulled his hand back as if he had been burned. "You found one." He took a step back before anger became apparent. "You saw it all!" He snapped at Shepard. "Our destruction! Our warnings?! Why weren't they heeded?! Why didn't you prepare for the Reapers, human?!"

"It's Commander." Shepard corrected rather harshly as she stepped forward. "Nobody could understand your warnings. The beacon nearly killed me." She said, he huffed.

"Then communication is still primitive in this cycle." He said, walking away to the other table.

Green eyes followed him. "We pieced together what we could and used it to stop a Reaper invasion three years ago." She said, he approached her again, touching the skin of her forearm for a moment.

"I see." He muttered. "The extinction was delayed.

It may already be too late for your cycle," he added, making a statement.

Shepard grounded her teeth together as Liara moved up to him. "We have found your people's plans for the Crucible." She said as she moved to the data terminal in the room and started typing. "We started building it."

"Crucible?" He asked when the blueprints were raised on the screen.

"The weapon your people were working on." Liara clarified. "I'd hoped you could tell us how to finish it." She admitted, a bit of hero worship in her voice, as he looked closer at the screen.

"We never finished it." He admitted sourly. "It was too late."

"Then I take it you don't know anything about the Catalyst." Shepard spoke as Liara crossed her arms again as the Prothean placed his hands on the table before him.

"No." He was firm in his statement. "I was a soldier, not a scientist. Skilled in one art: killing."

"What was your mission?" Liara asked, the Prothean lowered his head slightly.

"Among my people, there were... avatars of many traits: bravery, strength, cunning. A single exemplar of each."

"Which are you?" Shepard said.

"The embodiment of vengeance. I am the anger of a dead people, demanding blood be spilled for the blood we lost." His anger rose with each word. "Only when the last Reaper has been destroyed will my purpose be fulfilled. I have no other reason to exist." He paused, giving Shepard the opening to dismiss her men with a quick nod of her head.

The Hawkes watched as the guards silently saluted and left the room.

"Those who share my purpose become allies. Those who do not," taking a pause as he eyed those left in the room. "...become casualties." The Prothean spoke after a moment.

"Then I'd say you've found an ally." Shepard said, giving a hand gesture to go along with her words. "The goal of this ship is to wipe the Reapers from existence." She said the Prothean pushed away from the table, moving back to her.

"But how far are you willing to go to achieve that goal?" He asked, leaning in close to her face that she had to lean back slightly. She stayed silent as he closed his eyes. "Lies are easy to detect. But you seem to be telling the truth, Commander. For now."

He then backed off and headed back toward the sink. Once again dipping his hands in the cooling liquid; almost obsessively.

Silence echoed in the room. Shepard could hear the Hawkes shift silently as Liara moved to a small floating object at another desk. "We found this at the dig site." Liara said. "I assume it belongs to you." She danced her fingers around it slightly.

"It is a memory shard." He explained curtly.

"Could it-"

"No." He cut her off, already knowing the question. "It contains only pain." He moved to stand beside Shepard. "But I will help you fight; and the last thing the Reapers hear before they die will be the last voice of the Protheans sending them to their graves."

"At least he's upfront about what he wants," Sabrina quipped with a chuckle. "Most people give some fancy speech. Direct and short works better I find at times," she added, as she move to get a better look at the floating shard. Mesmerized by it.

"My type of soldier." Shepard quipped as Liara started to wring her hands together, slowly approaching the Prothean, in a manner reminiscent of a nervous child; and, compared to him, the asari certainly was.

"If you don't mind, I have a few questions I'd like to ask." She mustered the courage as she approached him.

"Here it comes." Shepard smirked, knowing the Asari all too well, amused as the shy scientist she met what felt like ages ago reared it's head.

Liara took a breath. "I have written over a dozen studies on your species. I've published in several journals-"

"Amusing. Asari have finally mastered writing." The Prothean spoke.

"I'm sorry?" Liara did a double take, the Prothean chuckled darkly.

"Ask me questions if you must Asari, but I am not without my own."

The Shadow Broker was unprepared for that. Sputtering in response, thrown; apparently, she'd been too focused on her own questions to wonder if he would have his own questions.

"What type of...people?" Sabrina spoke up since Liara seemed to be having trouble getting herself together-like a boy speaking to his crush. "Were the Pro-thy-ans?"

"Prothean Civilization." Shepard clarified as Liara seemed to gather her wits.

"Yes, I've always wondered. What sort of government did you have? And can you tell me about your religious beliefs? Or perhaps-

"We are dead now." He cut her off, Liara shrinking back closer to Shepard. "What does matter?"

"Because you're the only one alive to tell us," Hawke countered, not shrinking back like Liara. Then again, she hadn't spent a majority of her life studying his people like Liara had. "Unless of course we want to get into necromancy and summon them back from the dead.

But from what I've heard it never really works out well," giving a chuckle as her usual charm came out. "Well, with the exception of Goldie Locks there," gesturing toward the Commander, the older woman shaking her head.

"Necromancy?" The Prothean asked as he looked at them, frowning before raising a hand at the Hawkes. "You... you two...are different from the rest."

The sisters shared a look with each other, wondering where his statement came from.

The rogue gave him a curious look as she folded her arms over her chest. "No we aren't," she insisted, speaking for the both of them, their definition of 'human' completely different from that of those aboard the Normandy's, or any of the galactic divisions for that matter.

Of course, the ancient alien's words got Liara's attention.

"So was my speculation correct?" She asked the vengeful ancient. "I've noticed differences in their behavior, and things they do that I haven't seen other humans do.

I've observed them, but have yet to come up with anything solid, as I'm always left with more questions and more differences," the Shadow Broker added, glancing between the Fereldans and the Prothean.

"I would not know." He turned away from the Asari. "My people did not care for the primitive races once the Reapers attacked.

"Maybe...maybe you could touch them and find out?" Liara suggested, sounding a bit hopeful. The scientist in her coming out strong not only because of this monumental discovery of a living Prothean, but also because of his comment toward the Hawkes.

Something that was once again brought to the forefront of her mind, as their very behaviour kept her up during the time she had set aside for herself to sleep, when not pouring over data that could give them an edge in this war.

"Why would I want to do that asari?" he growled. "They are of no concern to me, only the Reapers are."

The blue skinned alien shrank back from his words; she really had no come back for that other than pure curiosity on her end. Well, more intellectual curiosity, but curiosity nonetheless.

"No need to bite of people's heads there ancient alien," Sabrina said, holding her hands up. "Especially those of your companions.

Wouldn't want to end up betrayed on the field because of a silly disagreement," she pointed out with her usual charm, as was her way.

"You are not my companions." the Prothean hissed. "I will only help because we share the same enemy." he looked at Sabrina. "It is easy to tell, you are not here because the Reapers are your enemy as well."

The light skinned woman placed her hands behind her back, rocking on her feet. "Nope," popping the 'p' as she always did. "They are my companions enemy," motioning toward Shepard. "Which makes them mine as well.

Though we have none of the weapons or things you all possess, it doesn't mean that I cannot offer what little assistance I can," she pointed out.

"Maybe another day, but not today." he looked away from Sabrina and at Liara. "I have been through enough for now, give me time to re-gather my bearings and maybe I will aid you in your plight Asari."

Liara nodding rapidly from his response. The furthest she'd gotten with him since they found him. "O-Of course," she said, speaking rapidly, which he noticed as he approached the asari and her bondmate.

"This had been rather amusing," he tacked on, seemingly amused by Liara reaction, a small, tiny smirk on his lips. He then turned his attention to the Commander. "I am known as Javik, I will aid you in this war against the Reapers."

"Javik." Shepard said the name just once. "I am-"

"I know your name human." He snapped quickly looking at her from over his shoulder. "A pity it must be. To hide your own name, lest your people associate you with the actions of another, despite how it is spelled."

Shepard exhaled slowly, the muscles tensing in her arms.

"The things we must do, to avoid a simple misunderstanding..." Shepard responded before she left with the others.


	23. Chapter 23

**OffMyLeash A/n: **_**This story isn't dead...it's just been over a month since the last update ^^; Sorry about that, but our work schedules( I finally got a job) kind of make things a little hectic for us. We don't even write this thing online anymore. It is officially written 100% through text messages and is edited online. Heh.**_

_**But besides work another reason for the slow updates is due to a dynamic shift in the story plot recently. So that's forced us to re-access a lot of things in terms of how this thing will play out (and despite updating for you guys we have over 300 pages of this thing written with about 30 different scenes for the next arc and final arc of this story ^^; ...that need to be reworked to fit the current plot change). We really love your reviews though, despite our update lag and hopefully this monster of a chapter will be a well awaited treat for you guys. We figured a transition chapter was needed to reel you guys back in before diving into anything upbeat given when we last updated.**_

_**Enjoy. Also, does anyone remember Rachet and Clank? Put it in a review if you do.**_

* * *

Bethany sighed softly as she took in the sights and sounds of the Citadel. What the Normandy crew said was right. It was vastly different now, seeing that Cerberus wasn't trying to kill everyone.

That aside, it wasn't something she could have easily imagined, the hustle and bustle, even put Hightown to shame. The way all the aliens mingled among each other.

"As much as they spoke of the Citadel." Bethany said slowly. "And what we saw before... I still could not imagine this. That Shepard's people live like this."

"It truly is amazing," Sabrina agreed as she trailed behind her sister slightly. "I didn't really get to take it in much the last time we were here.

What with us being shot at and Cerberus being all over the place and whatnot." The elder reminded. "To live in a place made entirely of star metal, that makes the Normandy look tiny in comparison...this is what you want for yourself?"

"What?" Bethany asked, slightly confused, as she looked back at the rogue.

A chuckle from the elder. "I notice how much you speak of this place sister," trotting a bit to close the gap between them.

Catching the golden eyed woman around the waist.

"How eager you are to learn about its customs, how things function," Sabrina continued to list off speaking against the younger's ear. "You're thinking about staying here aren't you?"

The younger was silent for a few moments before sighing. "Honesty, I am." Bethany said as she raised her hands and flared her magics brightly, not a single soul stopped their trip to gawk at her or started to run away in fear. "They don't care here."

"They shouldn't care back home," the tattooed female sighed out. "You're still a person Bethany. You're magic is nothing to be ashamed of.

You're no more dangerous than I am with my daggers," came the insistence, as Hawke brought a hand out to dance over the magic in her sister's hand.

"Lieutenant Williams said the same thing." Bethany sighed again as she dismissed her magic. "But, to change the subject. Do you remember what Javik said?"

"About us being different?"

"No." Bethany shook her head. "About Shepard's first name."

A nod from the elder. "Yeah...what about it?" Sabrina ventured, nuzzling against the slightly shorter girl.

"Don't you wonder what it is?" Bethany asked. "Javik said she hides it so people don't take her for another, she never gave it to us when we first met as well."

The mage spoke the truth. As Sabrina racked her memory, she couldn't recall Shepard ever giving her first name; it was always family name or title or nickname with her.

"Even Liara calls her Shepard." Bethany pointed out. "You would think she would call her by her first name, therefore she is actively hiding it."

"I'm not sure how her name could be confused with someone who was as bad as the others say," the rogue reflected. "I don't see how it's possible to be honest," sounding sheepish while saying it.

Bethany leaned in against her sister. "I think we need to ask around, maybe someone will tell us."

A low rumble from the older girl. "Where should we start?" She wondered aloud. "Maybe with that guard we helped save during Cerberus's attack?" Came the suggestion. "The man who is over the guard here."

"C-Sec. I think that's what Samantha called them." Bethany said. "Maybe they would know."

"We should find them and see if they can point us in the right direction dear sister," Sabrina said giving a playful smile.

A smile from the younger.

"Then let us go see him." She said before checking to see that her translator was turned on.

"Mmmm...sister," Sabrina responded, turning the younger girl around to face her.

She then said something in elven, which got them looked at by a few passerbys; elven wasn't picked up by any of the translators here after all.

Her words causing the golden eyed girl to smile wider as she brushed her lips across Bethany's.

"Come." Bethany said as she pulled back and away from Sabrina. "This might be an adventure we can tell Varric later."

A chuckle from the older girl. "And officially take his crown as the bullshit king!" She cried with a laugh, as she took hold of Bethany's hand. "Now let's go find the C-Sec captain."

* * *

"So your chase led you all the way around the Citadel and eventually you ended up in my office." Commander Bailey sighed as he leaned on his desk, looking at the two women standing before him. "Just to try and find Shepard's first name?"

The duo nodded. The pair was still wrapped around one another. They spent roughly two hours chasing leads on finding people who may have known Shepard's name, or known how to get to Bailey.

They'd found the latter.

"Since you know her because you are a guard," Sabrina began, speaking over Bethany's shoulder. "We figured you would know," came her conclusion.

Bailey chuckled, shaking his head. "Yes, I would know, if Commander Shepard wasn't a SpecTRe. She had her first name blocked from the files back in 2183 during her mess with Saren and the Geth. So why are you girls curious anyway?" he asked them, hands hovering over his terminal.

He'd been filing reports when they came in.

"There was...a member..." Bethany started, unsure if she could speak about the Prothean freely. "In her crew who said her name is similar to someone else's, someone bad."

He nodded. "Well, I suppose if they were bad enough to where she has to hide her name, their notoriety ranks pretty high," Bailey sighed. "Sorry ladies, but unless you're a SpecTRe yourself, there's no way you can get access to her files, short of the Commander giving you the file herself," he informed the pair.

"Also, never did get much of a chance to thank you," he said, shifting the conversation. "Back when Cerberus had this place overrun. I'd have been dead if you hadn't shown up when you did."

"That was Shepard, mostly." Bethany admitted. "We were just following her orders."

"True, but you still contributed," Bailey pointed out. "I'd be a corpse otherwise and Cerberus would have this place under their control."

A nod from the pair. "Apparently, people feel a war is the best time to fight each other rather than the enemy," Sabrina remarked.

"I believe you there. Cerberus, what a bunch of jackasses. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Shepard worked for them just last year. Now she's running around slaughtering them all." Bailey let out a low chuckle. "She says she only used them but given everything, people were, and still are, _highly_ skeptical of that fact.

To my understanding, it's why she and SpecTRe Williams were at odds," he added.

"They are friends now." Bethany said. "They work really well together in combat." She paused trying to think.

"So if we find someone working for Cerberus we might find out her name?" She asked next, Bailey snorted.

"I'd say your only luck on finding her name is finding Miranda Lawson or the Illusive Man himself. Both of them are wanted fugitives though, you'll have a tough time trying to find them."

"Though if you did find them, I'm sure the Council would make you both SpecTRes," he added with a chuckle. "Turning them over would outright cripple, if not destroy Cerberus. Which is needed if it means we can turn our attention to the Reapers," he remarked. "You know, those soulless creatures who are tearing into us left and right and killing people by the billions."

"Yes... well..." Bethany paused as she looked at her sister who had grown still at the mention of Miranda's name. She could easily tell that Sabrina was still clinging to the hope she would see Operative Lawson again. "Thank you for your time, Captain."

"It's Commander now." Bailey corrected. "Though I liked my job better when I was a Captain." He added dryly.

"Less reports to file," he grumbled while looking at the screen before the files stacked near his terminal.

"We will leave you then Ser." Bethany spoke. "Thank you for your help."

"It wasn't much." Bailey waved them off. "Not compared to saving my ass." He chuckled as Bethany took Sabrina's hand and led her out of the office.

The older girl following along without resistance.

"Sister." Bethany started once they got into the elevator and were alone. "About Miranda..."

"I...I would like to see her again if possible," the taller admitted while chewing on her lower lip, as was her habit. "But, if she's a fugitive...I'm not sure what happened to make her so," pausing to look at the mage. "She helped Shepard to stop the Collectors."

"But she's with Cerberus." Bethany pointed out. "We should ask Shepard or Doctor T'Soni, surely they would know where she is, they are friends, right?"

"Given how bad this war is?" Hawke countered. "I say it's a slim possibility, but still a possibility." Squeezing at the mage's hand seeking assurance from the younger woman.

A gesture which the golden eyed sibling returned. "Liara seems to know everything before it happens, if not she sure knows everything about it shortly after." Bethany said. "What did she say her job was again?"

"She deals in information, like Varric," Sabrina said after a few moments thinking about it. "So there's a strong chance he may be able to tell me where Miranda is, or, at the least help me understand why she's a fugitive.

So we should probably get back to the Normandy," she concluded. "Hopefully Shepard's found whatever she's looking for."

As she said the Commander's name, a young man looked up from what he was doing-honing in on the pair.

"You... you know Commander Shepard?" He stammered as he walked up to them. "Like know her know her?"

The siblings stopped, focusing on the newcomer.

"Yeah, we know Goldie Locks," Sabrina answered. "Doesn't everyone? With stopping the Collectors and doing what she's doing for the war I thought she'd be popular."

"Yes but..." He fumbled slightly. "I mean. Like... are you friends with her."

The pair nodded.

The man really seemed excited all of a sudden. "Really! I know her too! Well not really. She helped me bust a Red Sand dealer on Illium last year. I'm her biggest fan."

"Um...that's nice..." Bethany said, lacking anything better to say truthfully.

Then it clicked.

"If you're her biggest fan. You'd know her first name. Right?" She asked him.

The man puffed out his chest. "I know everything there is to know about Commander Shepard," he boasted. "From her time as an orphan on the streets to her time with Cerberus.

There's no aspect of her life that Conrad Verner hasn't made it his mission to know!" Came the declaration.

"So what's her name? Her real name?" Bethany asked quickly, leaning forward.

He sputtered. He wasn't used to women getting so close to him; he was a nerd and an annoyance to boot.

"It's...I...her name is...S-"

"Conrad!" It was Shepard who had shouted, making the man jump slightly. "For the love of..." She paused. "Please don't tell me it's you spewing propaganda for Cerberus."

"Me?" Conrad almost looked offended. "I am only doing what you did to help Humanity! I joined Cerberus and they told me to come here to get more people to join."

"Uh-huh." Shepard didn't believe him. "And while you were out causing a distraction, someone went and sabotaged the Medi-Gel dispensers in the refugee camp."

A look of surprise came across his face. He hadn't known that.

"Wait," Sabrina said, speaking for the first time in a while. "If he's working for Cerberus shouldn't we..." Trailing as she cracked her knuckles, the message ringing loudly.

"No! Don't!" Conrad held his hands out. "I didn't know!"

"He's fine Sabrina." Shepard vouched for him, waving the younger woman down. "A little daft at times but he's a good guy."

Sabrina thought on Shepard's words before backing off. Conrad letting out a sigh of relief that his face hasn't been rearranged.

"How does one even join Cerberus anyway?" The tattooed female inquired. "From all I've heard about them, I've come to the conclusion that you can't just go to where they originate and join their ranks," she pointed out.

Bethany let out a chuckle. "Like with the Crows," she compared.

"No." Conrad shook his head. "They function much like how the Shadow Broker does. All through different agents, depending what you want to do." He looked up at the Commander. "I really want to help you win this war Commander Shepard, I really do. But I just keep messing up."

"Noted." Shepard sighed. "I don't know Conrad, unless you can help me build a Prothean Super Weapon-"

"Well, I did write my doctoral dissertation on xenotechnology and dark energy integration..." Conrad cut her off, Shepard paused to stare at him before clearing her throat and looking at the Hawkes.

"You don't mind if I steal Conrad from you for a bit, do you?" She asked them.

"Actually, we do mind," Sabrina said latching onto his arm, causing the man the fluster. He'd never had a woman get this close to him; they all thought he was weird. "He was just about to tell us something important."

Bethany latched onto the man's other side.

"Very important," the Mage agreed. "Isn't that right Conrad?" She asked the Cerberus operative, purring as she posed the question.

Sabrina doing the same as she looking at him, causing the man to redden in the face as he felt movement in his pants.

"I'm sure Commander Shepard could tell you herself." Conrad reasoned. "It is her name after all."

"Is that what all of this is about?!" Shepard would have shrieked, if her voice was capable of it in the first place.

"Yeah. Javik's words made us curious," Sabrina defended. "We've asked all around and Conrad here," pinching at the man's face, succeeding in making him redder. "Is your biggest fan and claims to know everything about you.

Including that little bit of information."

"I'm a little surprised they don't know Commander Shepard." Conrad said. "I thought, since they are your friends, you would have told them."

"I haven't used my first name since 2183 Conrad." Shepard explained rather quickly. "It's not at the front of the mind when introducing myself."

"But why be ashamed of your name?" Bethany pressed looking at the Commander.

"Depends what name you are talking about." Shepard responded.

"Commander Shepard changed her family name befor-"

"Conrad."

He looked sheepish. "Sorry Commander." He whimpered.

But it was too late; Shepard noticed the looks on their faces. He'd just made the sisters even more curious.

The redhead letting out a groan, face palming-it was time to drag Conrad away. Least the duo end up getting him to spill the beans about her full name; he was flustered enough as it was, so it wouldn't take much to get him to spill when he was sandwiched between two women.

"You two, off him." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Go bug Liara, Aethyta or someone else."

Sabrina made a cooing noise. "Aw but I like him," she whined, tightening her hold on his arm. "Why, I think he might be the first man that's ever caught my eye!" She exclaimed scandalously.

"Mother would be shocked to hear that," Bethany remarked. "It means grandchildren are in her future from more than just the Templar now," snickering a bit.

"Who said anything about getting physical?" Hawke countered, making as face as she tried to think of herself bedding, or being bedded, by a man. "This is purely emotional with a sprinkle of teasing.

Right Conrad?" She asked him, giving off a purr as she nuzzled him.

A sound escaped Conrad's lips as Shepard rolled her eyes. "If I promise to tell you guys later would you get off him?"

"W-w-wait," Conrad said. "There's no need for drastic decisions."

The sisters nodded in agreement.

Shepard sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'm gonna go fix those broken Medi-Gel dispensers. You do... whatever it was you're doing."

Sabrina chuckled as she released Conrad. "Come sister," reaching out for the mage who was quick to latch onto her sister. "Lets continue our exploration," getting a nod from the younger girl, before Bethany captured her lips momentarily.

The action leaving Conrad speechless and wide eyed-not to mention shifting his legs in an attempt to cool the action down below.

"Later Conrad!" Sabrina said over her shoulder as the pair walked away, tossing a playful wink at him in the process, grinning all the while.

"Wait." Bethany shouted as she struggled to catch up. "We never got her name."

_I'll hold you to your promise Goldie Locks!_ Sabrina shouted over her shoulder, getting a sigh from the redhead.

"So where are your new friends from Commander?" Conrad tried to start the conversation again. "They are very interesting."

Shepard hung her head in defeat.

* * *

"Hard to tell a wars even going on with how calm everyone here is," Sabrina remarked. "It's like Cerberus trying to take over didn't even happen." Speaking to her sister as they shuffled along a new section of the Citadel.

Postponing returning to the ship just yet.

"No." Bethany shook her head as they walked past an asari commando and a turian soldier discussing battle tactics against the different Reaper soldiers. "The civilians act like there is nothing wrong, but the soldiers know there is a war."

"Of course they do. It's no different than during the Blight," the elder compared. "Being a soldier puts you right in the thick of it. Too far in to believe that it isn't real or as grim.

Where as those who don't fight are far enough away to actually believe that there is glory in such battles," the rogue added. "When in truth it's nothing more than fields worth of bodies, blood, and innards...along with the fact that your body will more or less never be found." Recalling her time at Ostagar.

A battle which still haunted her dreams at times.

"But the civilians support the soldiers here." Bethany pointing out, listening to the Kassa Fabrications ad that stated that all proceeds would go to helping the turian war effort. "They don't just ignore those in need just because they are across the sea."

"Fereldan was just ignored because a majority of the neighboring lands didn't believe and because Logain felt that a civil war was more important," Sabrina remarked, as she turned her attention to the monitor. "I'm just grateful that Carver and I managed to get off that battlefield," came her confession, as she recalled the army of darkspawn swarming the entire field, hitting them like a wildfire out of control. "And that we were in the same unit.

If we hadn't been..." Voice becoming softer as she trailed off.

If not, there would have been no telling where they would be. If they'd even be alive; it wasn't like Hawke could have just abandoned her brother to the massacre that was the Battle of Ostagar.

"Things happen for a reason sister." Bethany said. "The Blight, the Reapers, even Shepard landing on our planet."

Her last line catching the attention of someone who would have been a random passerby to the Hawkes.

A chuckle. "I suppose you're right," she agreed. "Same can be said for Blueberry," laughing at the nickname. "She wants us on stop calling her that but there's no way I'll ever stop calling Liara that!"

"Blueberry?" A new voice spoke, making the two women jump as a purple skinned asari walked up to them. "I take it you're well acquainted with that annoying little pureblood."

"Hey look, a purple one," Hawke pointed out the obvious to her sister, as she pointed at the newcomer, before walking in a circle around the asari. "I thought they all came in blue like Blueberry."

"Purple one?" The asari sounded annoyed. "Look, I'm looking for T'Soni, where can I find her?"

But Sabrina completely ignored the question. Her mind too blown by this discovery. "Yeah, purple, see?" Making a rather bold move as she took hold of the newcomer's wrist and held it up.

As if the woman was oblivious to her own skin tone. An action that caused the woman's guard to start reaching for his weapon.

"Watch it human." The asari snapped, snatching her hand back. "You act like you've never seen asari before."

"Aria, should I-" the turian started but Aria raised her gloved hand to stop him.

"It's fine Grizz." She chuckled, Bethany swallowed. "I think we found the humans who live under a rock. At least, I think that's what Shepard called them in her drunken stupor."

"Sister..." Bethany called to her sibling, who wasn't deterred by Aria's reaction.

"If I know Blueberry, that means I've seen an asari," the rogue pointed out. "But, as you can no doubt tell by the name, she's _blue_," emphasizing the word. "As is that bartender, the commando over there, and that ten copper whore in that back alley.

And yet _you_ are not blue. So, _no_ I haven't seen an asari that's _purple_," she confessed. "So you're statement was only half wrong."

Grizz froze. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had called Aria wrong; let alone did so boldly to her face.

"Why you..." Taking a step toward the rogue.

He stopped when Aria placed her hand against his chest plate, stopping him. "You got guts kid, not many would would say something like that to my face." She took a step forward.

"But as there are white humans, brown humans and black humans, asari also have diversity like that." She poked Hawke once in her chest. "So watch what you say brat."

"Ha! Another interesting phrase," Hawke declared turning to her sister. "That's 14 I believe," she told the Mage before looking back at Aria. "It's impossible to watch what I say since I'm speaking," making a "talking" gesture with her hand. "Since, you know, you hear words, not watch them.

Now writing them down is totally different," she told the much much much older woman. "And, people of different colours aren't nearly as interesting an alien. That's what they call you right?"

Bethany sighed. "Sabrina..." Putting a hand to her forehead.

"What?"

"Stop." She said. "If you listen to Liara and Shepard on the ship, this is Aria T'Loak, one being on the Citadel you don't want to cross."

"Seems like someone does listen to Shepard." Aria crossed her arms.

Bethany flushed while Sabrina brought a finger to her temple, trying to bring up the information.

"Oh yeah..." Sabrina said after a few moments, as it hit her. "The one who used to own that lawless place...what was it?...O-Omega!" Giving a snap of her finger when she properly recalled it.

The turian mimicked Aria's stance. "Good you remember," he told her. "I suggest you don't forget again. People who cross Aria don't live long." He threatened.

"If you're trying to make me fear her, it's not working," the rogue told him simply. "I'm not and I don't," she stated as he opened his mouth again. "For the simple fact I have no opinion or experience of her.

Heard stories, but I know from experience and our own storyteller, how people can be talked up. Which is not to say that they stories aren't true.

Besides fear is useless. Either something bad happens or it doesn't: If it doesn't, you've wasted time being afraid, and if it does, you've wasted time that you could have spent sharpening your weapons."

Not being smart about it at all, simply making a statement.

"Not being afraid means you are stupid." Grizz growled as Aria raised her hand to stop him.

"Let the the kid believe what she wants to believe, for it seems that the younger sibling has more common sense." Her gaze moved to Bethany who shrunk back slightly. "Fear, is a good quality to have."

Causing Sabrina to move before her sister, blocking Aria's line of sight. "If you want to control someone, all you have to do is make them afraid," the rogue said as she crossed her arms. "So, you mentioned Blueberry?" Bringing up why she had stopped them in the first place.

"Yes, I'm trying to find that twat of an Information Broker." Aria muttered. "I can't find her uptight blue ass anywhere."

Sabrina made a noise as she thought.

_[Wasn't she on the Normandy when we left?]_ Bethany inquired of her sister in elven, very uncomfortable around Aria.

A nod. _[Yeah but she's not there anymore]_, the elder answered. _[I caught her scent earlier_. _It's heavily concentrated in that area where that café is]_, looking to the golden eyed girl.

"Hey, cut that out." Grizz snapped, uncomfortable that he couldn't understand them. It wasn't often they came across a language their translators couldn't pick up.

"So?" Aria asked.

Sabrina, who'd had as much as she could take of the turian, turned and snapped at him, giving off a growl, in a way an irritated lion would do. It was unexpected and he found himself freezing; she held her gaze on him a few moments before focusing on Aria.

"Blueberry mentioned you working on a trade system," the tattooed female pointed out. "You want things for information that you have.

So, I have something you want. That means you have to give me something for it. Like bartering."

The Pirate Queen crossed her arms. "What do you want? My resources are limited because fucking Cerberus still sits on my station."

"How are you going to get them out?" Bethany asked, the woman smirked.

"I think, I am going to employ violence."

"Always a good choice," Hawke said before eyeing the Asari.

_[Are you really going to ask her for something?]_ the Mage inquired, glancing at the asari, getting a nod from her sister. _[Like what?]_ baffled. _[We know about this place as much as a toddler does]_

Causing the rogue to chuckle and rub her head. An amused, near lazy smirk on her face. _[Now, now sister...it's nothing big._

_Shepard is already seeking her help through more people, so I can't make that happen anymore. And anything beyond that I wouldn't know or understand._

_So, I'll go the simple route]_

"I'm waiting." Aria spoke, tapping her foot against the ground. "You're little coded language is cute, but it shouldn't be used in front of people like me."

"I didn't complain when Blueberry was speaking her native tongue," Hawke countered in the common tongue. "As for what I what from you...your jacket," she said simply.

Grizz sputtered while Aria's facial markings shot up, amused. She started to laugh.

Her laughter causing passersby to look at them; many hurrying on their way when they spotted Aria. Unlike Hawke, they weren't oblivious to the things she could do.

The things she did.

"I think that's a no, sister." Bethany whispered to Sabrina as she watched the asari laugh.

"But...I want it..."

"You're funny kid." Aria told Sabrina. "No wonder Shepard keeps you around." Her Omni-Tool beeped. "But it seems like your 'Blueberry' is waiting for me in Purgatory." She added when she looked at her message.

"That means I'm not getting my jacket doesn't it?" The rogue asked with a sigh. "Liara's going to pay for this."

"Why do you want her jacket anyway?" Bethany asked her sister as Aria walked away with Grizz, still chortling.

The sea green eyes sibling pointed as she folded her arms over her chest. Eyes watching as Aria disappeared into the crowd. "It looked cool," she muttered. "It's nice."

* * *

"Hey Shepard!" Jack hollered from her table near the entrance of the club, tossing her datapad aside.

"Jack." The redhead acknowledged as she moved to the table.

"How's it going fucker?" The biotic questioned, leaning back in her seat, playing with her glass.

"As bad as you can assume." Shepard responded as she sat down across from the woman she could assume she could call a friend. "The damned Quarians are the next on my list and I have a feeling they're doing something irrelevant to the war."

"Well as long as it doesn't involve you having to deal with another psychotic biotic you'll be fine," the heavily tattooed woman remarked, adjusting herself in her seat.

"I have the Hawke Siblings with me Jack, I think I am far from fine." Shepard responded as she waved at a turian waiter for drinks.

A chuckle from the younger woman. "They're a weird bunch, but they're alright," she acknowledged, as she took a chug of her own drink. "They certainly manage to keep my kids entertained.

Can't tell you how many times I've walked up on them for them to be discussing the younger one," she told the marine, unable to recall the mage's name. "Wanting to test biotics against magic."

"Bethany?" Shepard was surprised. "You know she's terrified to use her magic freely, unlike us biotics."

"Don't know why," Jack responded. "Giving what she did at the Academy I'd be showing off every chance I got.

Which I already do," giving a chuckle.

"She grew up differently Jack." Shepard leaned back in her seat. "She had to hide her powers to avoid going to some crazy institution that makes the BAaT Program was run by kittens."

"No shit?" The natural biotic responded in a way that let Shepard know it was a question.

"Yeah, they lock them up like criminals. The children too if they have powers. It's really hard to explain, but the brother turned Bethany in to them to get back at Hawke for not taking them into the Deep Roads with us."

"The fuck?" Jack echoed. "That's even lower than Cerberus, and those fuckers do pretty fucked up shit," she said, speaking from experience.

"And I just thought the douche was a religious asshole," the natural biotic remarked, remembering Carver all too well...and not in a positive light either. "Wish I could forget the little fucker.

Where is religion boy anyway?"

"He's locked up in the brig on the Normandy." Shepard sighed. "You saw how I fucking lost my shit around him, I can't let him have free reign on the ship. So Ashley is the only one he'll talk to now."

Jack hmm'd. "Id almost say it sounds like me and the Cheerleader when we were at each other's throats," she began. "But comparing her to him would be too much of an insult.

And I can't stand her perfect ass." Finishing by downing her drink.

"Really? There was talk that you liked Miranda's perfect ass," the Commander teased with a smirk. "More than you let on, which explained all the fighting."

The younger woman stared at her. "Shepard, if you weren't needed to stop these fucking Reapers I'd cripple your ass right now," Jack stated, waving for another drink.

The redhead laughed. "The crew was comparing my fight with him to when you exploded in Miranda's office." Shepard said. "I broke a ton of Alliance Regulations, nearly got myself discharged."

Jack scoffed as she took a swig of her new beer. "It's a goddamned war going on Shepard," the biotic pointed out. "No one knows that better than you.

So if you tend to do something outside of their stupid regs so fucking what?" The younger continued. "You're their best bet for winning this thing. Those fuckers can stand to let it slide. Plus all that shit will be pointless if the Reapers win."

"That's another problem." Shepard leaned in on the table. "I don't think we can win. All of our hope is riding on some super weapon that's never been completed before."

"Shepard you managed to assemble a team of different skills, pass successfully through the Omega 4 relay, destroy the Collector base, and get out without a single person dying," Jack reminded her. "So if anyone can get an uncompleted super weapon to work, it's you fucker.

Sure as hell can't be anyone else," she stated matter of factly. "You've been fighting against the Reapers longer than any of us. You ask me, just like no one could hate Cerberus more than me, no one can hate these fuckers more than you."

Shepard laughed.

"Commander Shepard, Reaper Killer." She chuckled. "Fuck, Joker thinks we should build a gun that shoots Thresher Maws, since they seem to work."

Jack did the same. "Heard you ended up taking out one on Tuchunka with one," laughing. "Seemed to get the job done so I say put those Alliance resources into it.

Or at the very least a gun that shoots Thresher Maw acid," turning her attention to the dance floor where people were living it up.

"Urgh, I still remember how that acid tore my Mako up. But..." She chuckled. "Remember when you, Grunt and I took one down on foot?"

"Hell yeah," Jack agreed with a grin of her own. "Talk about setting the bar for the Rite of Passage."

"Before us it was Wrex." Shepard leaned back. "And Uncle Urdnot is an old fucker."

A nod from the biotic.

_"You did what?!" _Liara's shout cut across the club forcing a loud sigh from Shepard.

_"What?"_ Came Sabrina's equally loud response. _"You ruined my trade! You owe me a jacket Blueberry!"_

Aria's chuckle floating over the noise, making Jack look at the redhead curiously.

"I am as in the dark as you are Jack." Shepard shrugged. "But if Aria is laughing..."

"It's a good thing...or an amusing one."

"Come, let's check it out." Shepard said as she hit the table.

* * *

"Well, I must say I've learned some interesting things _Blueberry_," Aria said, smirking as she leaned back against the couch.

Liara huffed as she looked at the Hawkes.

Bethany looking away in embarrassment, while Sabrina just met the asari's gaze.

"What?" The rogue asked curiously, as she caught Shepard from the corner of her eye. "Hey Goldie Locks," waving at the Commander.

"What did you do now?" Shepard sighed as she crossed her arms, looking at Sabrina.

The tattooed female just shook her head, giving a shrug. "I didn't do anything. Honest.

Ask the Cranberry," pointing at Aria, getting a sputter from Grizz.

"Cranberry?" Shepard asked, noticing the highly amused look on Aria's face.

"No?" Hawke echoed. "We'll there's always Dewberry or Passion Fruit.

Hmm...maybe Pussywillow would be better..." She mused, getting an outright snort from Grizz as well as Liara's lips curving upward in amusement.

"I think she might beat you with the nicknames Jack," the information broker told the former convict.

"Bullshit." Jack growled as Shepard shook her head.

"So what's this about a jacket?" The redhead asked.

"She was supposed to be giving me her jacket," Hawke informed the Commander. "But Blueberry ruined it." Pouting as she spoke.

"I never said I'd give you my jacket." Aria chucked "I just laughed at the proposal."

"Details. Pointless details," the rogue responded.

"I don't think anyone has ever asked for the Fucking Queen of Omega's jacket." Jack chuckled.

"And she sounds so serious about it," Grizz pointed out.

"She...she is," Bethany responded shyly from behind her sister.

"No shit?" Jack asked. "This is gold." Bursting out into a laugh of her own.

"Sabrina, let's be serious now." Shepard said. "It's just a coat."

The younger woman huffing, cutting her eyes away. "I'm just saying, she can't deliver on a jacket how she's supposed to deliver on the big stuff," she muttered, scuffing the ground with her foot like a child.

"You never gave me what I wanted." Aria responded.

"I didn't see you start taking off the jacket," Sabrina countered. "What if I had told you and you didn't deliver on the jacket?

That's like a whore sleeping with you, and when she asks for her money you tell her you don't have it. She's doubly screwed at that point."

"Oddly enough that does make sense," Jack said, having calmed down from her laughing bout.

"So what if I gave you my jacket and you just guessed where Liara is?" Aria shot back. "I only pay people back when the information is sound. Which is why." She looked at Liara. "This Pureblood here is my preferred broker."

"If I didn't know where she was I wouldn't have offered to trade in the first place," Sabrina responded in a way that sounded like she was saying 'duh'. "I don't have an interest in jerking people around."

"Alright, let's play a game." Aria smirked. "Tell me where you thought T'Soni was, then T'Soni will tell me where she was. If you were right, I'll get you a fucking jacket."

A nod before she turned to Liara, lightly scenting the asari in a way that wasn't noticeable to the others, except her sister.

"You were with that Asari Councilor we saved," she stated. "Then you were with that bartender on, I forget the level, but you smell like ale.

You went somewhere else, a warehouse, yeah definitely a warehouse, and now you're here."

"How the..." Liara took a step back.

"A warehouse T'Soni?" Aria asked, brow raised.

"I'm a very good information broker." Liara muttered.

Hawke turned to Aria. "See. I'm right," she declared grinning, pointing at Liara who was taken completely by surprise.

"How did you figure that out?" Aria asked as she watched Liara splutter.

The Pirate Queen highly amused at the Shadow Broker's reaction.

"Because her scent tells me so," Sabrina answered simply. "So...as for that jacket..." She brought up.

But, before Aria could speak, Liara beat her to it.

"My scent?" Liara nearly shouted. "The Citadel is massive! There is no way you would have been able to figure that out by smell!"

"Yet I did. And I'm not wrong," the rogue said looking at the older woman. "You did go to those places.

And I don't understand enough here to spy on you. Our exploring didn't take us anywhere near the places you went," she pointed out.

"I don't understand." Grizz spoke up. "She's just a human, there is no way she could identify that by smell alone!"

"I'm in the same boat as you Turian." Jack said.

The light skinned woman folded her arms. "There's nothing unusual about this," she protested. "Bethany can do the same," causing her sister to flush and try to hide from being put on the spot.

"I think Liara's about to freak out," the former convict remarked to the Commander, as the woman in question had begun to pace back and forth.

Shepard sighed as she moved up to Liara and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her in.

"Liara, breathe." She said, Liara shaking her head. "This is normal for the natives of their planet." She told Grizz and Jack. "They're not Earthborns like normal humans."

Getting surprised looks from the two that didn't know. Jack knew that they weren't from Earth, but the teacher knew nothing about the differences between them and Earthborns.

Neither did Shelard and Liara to be honest...not the full extent that those differences reached.

"This must be what Javik meant," Liara muttered. "About them being different." Speaking to herself as she mused.

"Javik?" Jack asked. "Who the fuck is Javik?"

Shepard shook her head. "It's a long story," she told the convict.

"Seems like you have a rather interesting group, Shepard." Aria spoke, still chuckling to herself as she raised her Omni. "What's your ID kid?" She asked.

"My what?" Hawke asked, completely confused and it showed on her face.

Aria turned her gaze to Liara. "Blueberry?" Smirking as she used the name. "Why don't you tell me, very good information broker," the pirate queen taunted.

"Sure thing _Pussywillow_," Liara countered, regaining her composure somewhat.

Aria frowned as she stared at Liara, one of her real threatening ones as well.

"She doesn't have an Omni-Tool." Liara said. "They don't know much about our ways."

"But we're learning." Bethany muttered.

"Just forward it to mine." Shepard said.

Bethany tugged on Sabrina's arm, getting her sister's attention. Signaling for the older girl to present her ear. Saying something that got a smile from the rogue before the older licked at her mouth.

Bethany returning the gesture.

"What the fuck?" Jack questioned when she saw the gesture.

"Learn to ignore it." Liara and Shepard said at the same time.

"It's just what they do," Liara added, as the two walked over.

* * *

The bartender let out several laughs once her daughter finished the story.

"Her jacket!" Liara still couldn't believe it. "Everything she could have asked the Queen of Omega for, and it was her jacket!"

The older asari chuckled in amusement. "Bet you see didn't that one coming!" The bartender exclaimed, slapping at the bar with her hand.

"I didn't see that coming?!" Liara shouted. "Aria didn't see it coming!"

Her father let out another amused chuckle as she cleaned a glass. "Who would have?" Came the counter. "Given your professions, you expect people to ask for the big things.

Nothing so simple."

"In hindsight, Hawke is a rather simple person." Liara responded. "So when Aria made that offer she was probably expecting weapons or credits. Not her jacket."

Aethyta gave a nod. "Or something just as big," the father added. "Being asked for her jacket must have thrown her for a loop."

"She was laughing, father, Aria never laughs."

The matriarch let out a whistle. "Damn..."

"I know." The maiden agreed. "Hawke made the Queen of Omega laugh."

"If the kid ever comes here, she's earned a free drink or two on the house," Aethyta informed her daughter. "Heard that she also managed to throw you for a loop as well."

"Shepard tell you?"

A nod. "Apparently, she's spying on you and you don't even know it," the elder Asari teased with a smirk.

"She figured it all with her nose." Liara explained. "She just sniffed me and knew who I was with and where I was in the last hour."

Her response causing Aethytha to pause with what she was doing and simply look at her daughter. Staring at her child a long time; silent.

"What?"

"You do realize how far fetched that sounds don't you?"

"I still don't believe it myself." Liara said. "But she was able to identify I had a meeting with Tevos, the room was bug free and she doesn't know how to use an Omni-Tool."

"That...I have no idea what to even say to that," the father confessed. "Even with all my years that stands out."

"I know." Liara said as she looked to the side, seeing Hawke wandering around the presidium. "That's her there." She pointed the human out.

Directing her father's attention to the alien. Who was simply wandering around like the tourist she was; it was just her.

"Kid stands out like a singing Krogan," Aethytha commented. "And she got that iceberg of a pirate to laugh?"

"You'd think the childish antics would have been found in Bethany." Liara said. "But they're not. Sabrina's... different."

And then, an odd thing happened. The rogue, who was far enough away from them to be unaware of them, stopped in what she was doing. Her head snapping in their direction.

She smiled before waving at them-as if she were two feet away instead of fifty.

"Shit, she heard ya from all tha' way over there?" Aethyta nearly jumped where she stood.

"That...that can't be possible," Liara responded in surprise. "Hawke has no augmentations," she told her father as the rogue began making her way over to them.

"Even an augmented asari still can't hear from that far away." Aethyta muttered. "Even if we did, the fucking translators won't pick up."

Getting a nod from the daughter.

"Hey Blueberry," Sabrina greeted once within range as she took a seat at the bar. "Whose your friend?" She asked, looking at the bartender.

"Friend?" Aethyta bristled slightly. "Are you assuming that all asari are buddy buddy here?"

"Well, you two were talking to each other," Hawke pointed out. "I don't assume people who don't know each other would talk for as long as you two have been."

"As long? How the fuck would you know that kid?"

"I've walked through here like fifteen times and Blueberry's been here each time," the rogue pointed out. "You're also the other smell I smelt on her earlier.

So with that I just assumed," giving a hand gesture. "But maybe you two aren't friends. Maybe you two are...you know..." Waggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner that had Liara turn plum purple.

"Goddess no!" She shouted as Aethyta laughed.

"I don't think this brat here would cheat on Shepard, even if she knew how!"

"You sure? I mean. If you are Blueberry I won't tell Shepard," she told the older woman. "I'll let you bring it up when you're ready."

Making the Maiden sputter incoherently.

Aethyta was still chuckling. "I like you kid." She said as she slammed an empty glass down in front of Hawke. "Naw, kid wouldn't cheat on Shepard with her father, sound's just wrong."

"And disgusting," Liara finally managed to say, giving a shudder and making a face.

While Sabrina had a look of curiosity. "Father?" She echoed. "But you're a woman," pointing out the obvious. "Well...as far as this half goes," motioning to her own upper body in reference to the matriarch's.

"Oh, so just because I have breasts I can't be the dad?" Aethyta spat. "If that was the case the asari would have died out long before kid." She crossed her arms. "Have you ever seen a flat-chested dick sporting asari kid?"

"I don't know," Sabrina responded honestly. "I only really know five asari," holding up three fingers. "Blueberry. Justice Samara. Falere. Aria. And you.

All other asari I've seen have been fighters," she added. "But I don't know. There may be flat chested asari with...man parts...where you guys come from."

"Justicar Samara," Liara corrected her. "And, There are none." she continued. "Our race is monogendered, we are all what you see as female."

"Oh yeah. You did mention that that night Vega made pizza," Sabrina said, recalling that night. "They kept calling you a man because you make Shepard-mfghjdj!" suddenly cut off by Liara's hand over her mouth.

"No, no." Aethyta was still laughing as she reached across the bar. "I want to hear this. What do you make Shepard do?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" The Maiden protested quickly. Though Hawke's muffled talking implied otherwise. "I'll buy you three dozen brownies if you drop it," she whispered quickly to Sabrina.

The rogue stilled. "Fouhp" she said against Liara's hand.

"Alright four." As the scientist removed her hand.

"She makes Shepard cook," Hawke said with a straight face.

Aethyta didn't look impressed. "I'll double whatever she bribed you with if you tell me." Liara's father leaned in on the bar. "And free drinks."

"Depends. Will I like your drinks?"

"You like alcohol?"

"Yeah."

"Then you'll like my drinks."

"I'll get you rabbit," Liara offered up.

"How much rabbit?"

"Rabbit?" Aethyta asked. "Why the fuck do you want a human house pet?"

"Pet?" Sabrina echoed. "That's food," she told the bartender. "I want fifteen."

"Rabbit hasn't been food since before the humans found the relay." Aethyta insisted.

"Where she hails from they don't even know the technology exists father," Liara told the matriarch. "They still fight with swords. No synthetic life at all."

"But they have the wheel and gunpowder at least, right?" Aethyta asked.

"Wheel yes, gunpowder, no."

"How the fuck did you find these people?"

The Shadow Broker let out a sigh. "Accidentally," she confessed. "While fleeing the Collectors, Shepard did a random vector jump and then somehow the ship ended up losing its Eezo reserves so she had just pull out.

We got caught in their planets orbit."

"So..." Aethyta paused. "What does Liara do to Shepard on the bedroom?"

"Sorry but she promised me rabbit," The tattooed female said. "Rabbit trumps alcohol."

"Rabbit. Beaten by a goddamn pet." Aethyta muttered. "Fine, I'll get the story outta that SpecTRe... William... was it? She's here from time to time."

A laugh from Sabrina. "So...how exactly are Blueberry's dad?"

* * *

Bethany hesitated slightly as she entered the Hangar Bay, listening to Vega and Cortez converse very loudly, maybe nearly shouting at each other as they fought over something called the Mako and something called the Hammerhead.

Looking around, seeing that the men had not yet noticed her she spotted the little metal dog that paced around the bay. Kei-9 was its name, or so that was what Samantha had told her the last time she was down here.

She thought she would have been able to find Ashley down here as well, but the SpecTRe lived up her title and was always impossible to find.

"Um...sorry to interrupt..." She apologized as she approached the two men. "But have either of you seen Williams?"

"She's on shift in the brig." Cortez answered pointing to the corner. "She should be done in a couple hours when Garrus takes over."

The mage nodded as she headed off in that direction, allowing the two men to resume their conversation. When she made it to the base of the stairs she heard conversation; and, since there was only one person in the brig, she knew who was speaking.

As much as she wanted to speak with Williams she did not want to pass through the doorway that led to the cells. That would mean seeing Carver, no matter how briefly. So instead, she took a seat in the floor outside the doorway.

Simply deciding to go into a meditative state with her powers.

* * *

"Hey, you awake?" Garrus' voice brought Bethany back around. "You shouldn't be sitting here, it's not very comfortable."

The golden eyed Hawke shook her head. "I am fine," she assured the Turian as she stood. "I was waiting on Williams."

Garrus paused for a moment, Bethany could see his mandibles move slowly. "She'll be up in a moment." He said before moving down the stairs, Bethany could hear the two of them talking but she couldn't understand Garrus from this distance.

Eventually she saw Williams ascend the stairs. "Garrus said you were waiting on me?"

"Yes. I...I wanted to ask you something," the younger brought up, feeling nervous suddenly.

"I'm listening." She said as she motioned for them to continue up away from the brig.

"That weapon you like so much, the Spider...can...can you teach me how to fire it?"

"My Black Widow?" Ashley seemed surprise. "I could, but the kick she gives will break your arm."

"O-oh," Bethany responded as she reddened a bit, sending her eyes to the ground.

"But there are other guns I can show you." Ashley tacked on. "But before any of that. Why do you want to learn how to shoot?"

"Well, I plan on staying when Shepard returns my family home," the younger woman told her. "And, well...I want to help."

"Staying?" Ashley stopped, surprised. "Have you told Shepard this yet?"

A shake of her head. "I wanted my mother and sister to be aware of my decision first," came the admittance.

"Have you told them yet?"

"I've discussed it with Sabrina. I...I haven't told mother yet," Bethany said before sighing. "She's already lost me once...and now this will be the second time."

"You don't know how to tell her." Ashley summarised.

"Yes."

A sigh from the younger SpecTRe. "It will be hard, but I am positive your mother would understand. You'll be here, and not at the mercy of the Templar's whims."

"True, it's just..." The golden eyed woman trailing as she fiddled with the scarf on her neck. "I feel like in some way, I'm saying neither she nor sister are good enough to protect me, when that isn't true...

But. It feels that way..."

"You know here Shepard won't protect you. You'll have to protect... learn to protect yourself."

"I don't mean hand holding. I can defend myself," she pointed out. "But my skill lies in going unnoticed. Where Carver sought attention, I was the opposite," The younger added. "People see me without seeing me unless I want them to."

"That's a good trait to have." Ashley turned on her heel and walked backwards. "Especially if you want to learn how to snipe."

"That's what you and Garrus do isn't it?"

"Yes." Ashley said. "Garrus is more precise than I, in lining up the head shots. If I blow a man's arm off with my gun I'm a happy camper."

"Are you discussing your unhealthy obsession with your gun to Tiny Wings?" Vega asked when he heard the tail end of Williams comment as they entered the hangar.

"So what if I am?" Ashley shouted back at him. "Headshots or a blast to the chest?"

He smirked. "Well, I'm more a fan of heads than chests," he told her, eyeing up the younger SpecTRe. "But they're both neck and neck."

Ashley gave an aggravated sigh as an answer.

The mage chuckled. "Varric tends to go for throats," she commented. "The eyes are second. Groin is third. He says hitting them in one of those areas frees you up to handle the people closing in on you."

"The throat it a good place." Ashley nodded. "It's usually just the soft suit there, no armour. But hard to aim for, unless you can go unnoticed." She glanced at Bethany.

"I'm not sure. My magic is my weapon," she admitted. "Varric certainly could do it though...and people see him."

"Magic is probably just as flamboyant as Biotics." Cortez spoke up. "Once you start, the target is painted."

"I don't glow..."

"Put a silencer on her barrel." Ashley gestured at Bethany, "and we have a silent, deadly weapon that doesn't light-up like a Christmas Tree every time she wants to use her powers."

"That doesn't sound sexual at all," Steve joked with a light laugh.

"The two of you." She crossed her arms.

"Hey, it's okay L-T. If you want to pet the bird..." Vega implied.

* * *

Shepard chuckled softly to herself as she keyed in her access code into the terminal into the SpecTRe offices. "I just need to make a quick call." She told Leandra. "You're more than welcome to wait outside here or come in."

"I think I'm going to go look out at the view," Leandra said pointing toward the railing, that gave off a nice sized view of the place. "I'll be over there when you finish dear."

"Shouldn't be long then." Shepard said. "Miranda likes to keep these calls short." She ducked into the office, doors sealing behind her.

The redhead made her way over to the QEC. The machine scanning her, recognizing her DNA pattern before Miranda appeared before her.

"Commander," The former XO greeted, arms crossed.

"Lawson." Shepard responded in the same kind. "Nice to see you again."

A nod from the older woman. "I'm still trying to find a trail on my father." came the response. "So I've got an opportunity to chat for a moment."

"I have a warning for you." Shepard pointed out. "Kai Leng is on the loose. He killed Thane when Cerberus tried to take the Citadel."

A look of surprise crossing the woman's face.

"Kai Leng?" Miranda echoed the name. "That bastards still alive?"

"Apparently so. But Hawke managed to go toe to toe with that damned Space Ninja, would have killed him too probably if her bastard brother didn't interfere."

"Wait, Hawke? Here?" Miranda asked, surprise claiming her once again. "What the bloody hell?!"

"I thought I needed Bethany to help me find the Leviathan, although we have yet to figure that out, seeing all the shit your old boss has been throwing at me." Shepard said. "Turns out, Carver had handed her over to the Templars, so I got all three Hawkes and their mother with me on the Normandy."

"Even in the midst of a galactic war you still find time to break regulations," the Australian teased with a sigh. "Still, I'll be on my guard and take the necessary precautions."

"Just watch your back Miranda." Shepard nodded. "I don't need Leng stabbing you in it."

"No promises Shepard."

"Just try, Jack misses you." She teased. "And that perfect ass of yours. She said so herself."

The Australian gave her a dry look. "Someone's spending too much time around Joker," she responded, as she shifted. "I'm sure the damaged biotic does," she responded to the tease. "I'm amazed they let her near children," she said, her way of teasing.

"The Alliance likes their crazies, look at me. I run Makos over Geth Armatures for fun."

A chuckle from the hologram. "So does Cerberus apparently."

"Takes one to know one." Shepard grinned. "Stay safe Miranda."

Another chuckle. "No promises," the former right hand woman of the Illusive Man repeated before walking away then disappearing.

Shepard stood there for a moment before shaking her head, wondering if bringing up Hawke so casually was a good idea.

After flipping through the terminals and fast tracking a few things she left the office.

"Finished with you business dear?" Leandra asked, as Shepard appeared beside her.

"Yeah, said I was going to be quick" she said. "Enjoy the view?"

A nod. "It's very lovely...and so strange," the older woman confessed, golden eyes focused outward.

"Strange? How so?" Shepard asked as she leaned forward on the railing.

"Nothing I'd ever dreamt of seeing I suppose," Leandra said, settling on her words. "It's quite a jump from what I am accustomed to.

It's like a very very odd dream."

"I think I can believe that." Shepard said. "Had a similar feeling when I left Earth for the first time, seeing my home planet from space, it was nothing I could have imagined."

"It's not a sight I think I'll ever forget," the older woman confessed. "I mean, I knew the world was large but never had I imaged so large.

The lands we know of, both fact and myth, seem so tiny in comparison," she commented.

"Long ago, my people believed the Earth was flat and the sun revolved around us." Shepard said. "As time passed we learnt more and more, then we took to the stars."

"And where does one go after they've reached the stars?"

"That I do not know." Shepard answered. "There are still places in this galaxy we have not discovered, there is Dark Space, where the Reapers rest. That too, is untouched."

A chuckle. "I'm not sure if I want to know about more places," the elder said. "Knowing takes away the mystery," a smile playing at her lips.

Shepard smiled softly before placing her hand over Leandra's softly. "Let me show you the Council Chambers." She said softly. "The view there, is nothing I can easily describe."

The older woman nodded, giving her consent. "They are in the Presenteum?" She inquired, trying to recall the name and hoping she pronounced it properly.

"Presidium." Shepard corrected. "We can cut through it on our way if you wish."

"You're leading this trek. I'm simply following."

"Then let me not disappoint you, after all, I was a guest in your home not too long ago, least I can do is show you my stomping grounds."

* * *

"You're right. This is a far better view," Leandra agreed as she saw the Citadel on its entirety.

The arms, a mass of flying cars, tall building, and a sun-which she learned was fake.

"Seeing something like this, makes it easy to forget that you are fighting a war," the mother said.

"Yes." Shepard agreed. "It also goes to show just how beautiful life can be." She raised her Omni-Tool for a moment before looking back at it's screen. "How small one person is to the rest of the galaxy."

A nod from the grey haired woman. "How small we all are to the galaxy, even as a whole," she added.

"Ser-... Shepard." Liara's voice traveled through the chambers, causing the two to look behind them, Liara standing there with a soft smile. "I didn't expect to find you here, you usually try to stay away from the council."

"Yes, well..." Shepard chuckled. "Just showing Leandra the sights you see."

"She's been such a gracious host," Leandra praised. "Like a child eager to show off their new toy to someone," chuckling a little as Shepard flushed a bit, looking away.

Liara chuckled softly. "Well, I guess you never do get to show people your favorite places do you? Shepard."

The Commander only getting redder in the face. It would surprise most people to know that it took a lot to embarrass the redhead; that is, unless you were close to her, then it was a fairly easy task.

"Well, at least it's not an erupting volcano." Shepard nearly stammered back. "If I recall, that's where you like to spend your time."

Liara let out a chuckle of her own. A tad embarrassed at that particular moment in her life. "I've learned since then," the scientist responded.

"Yes, crawling around in the ducts while being chased by Cerberus in the Mars Archives was so much better." Shepard waved her off.

"You've come a long way Commander," the Asari teased.

Shepard sighed, suddenly interested in the floor. "We've changed a lot since 2183." She spoke; suddenly forgetting that Leandra was still there.

The woman smiling at the two of them. Knowing when to leave people alone; moving away to let the couple have their moment.

"Liara." Shepard started again. "I know the future looks bleak with this war, but I ..." She found herself suddenly nervous.

Liara smiled, saying a name Leandra had heard once before as the asari stepped forward towards her partner. "We'll see beyond this war, I am certain."

The Commander bringing her forehead to rest against her bondmate's. "Perhaps you will..."

"You will." Liara said placing her hands on the sides of Shepard's face. "If there is anyone who can defy death, it's you. You've done so once already," the scientist gently reminded, placing a soft kiss to her lovers lips.

Shepard pulled back after a moment, just before her Omni-Tool beeped. "Damn, I need to go." She took a step back looking at the two women. "You'll be fine on your own?" She asked them.

The two nodded before the Commander gave one of her own before leaving. That's when the awkward silence fell between then, Liara fidgeting slightly.

"You're nervous," Leandra observed, noticing Liara's movements. "There's no need to be," she assured the Asari.

"No?" Liara responded. "Sorry, we just never..."

"Spoken properly before?" Leandra supplied for the broker who gave a nod.

"Properly, yes." Liara agreed. "The conversation we had in your home, wasn't much of one."

A chuckle from the younger woman. "Then we can start right now," she offered up, with an amused smile on her lips that reminded Liara of Sabrina.

"Goddess." Liara sighed before smiling. "I've noticed Shepard has taken quite a shine to you."

"Really? She seems to be quite social with everyone else," the mother pointed out.

"You can tell if you know her well enough." Liara responded. "But you probably noticed, she wasn't acting like the 'Great Commander Shepard' that she usually does when it was just the two of you."

Leandra could not deny that one. "She acts more of a child than a soldier," she admitted. "Though I've yet to truly see her in action, I hear the stories. But I'm not sure I have anything to compare her current behavior to."

"Your own daughter perhaps?" Liara offered.

Another chuckle. "She and Sabrina are as different as day and night, and yet exactly the same," she responded. "Doesn't make much sense does it?"

"Few things do when it comes to organics." Liara admitted. "After meeting your daughter? I couldn't help but believe that if Shepard didn't lose her parents at such a young age, she could have easily ended up at the same person your daughter is."

Golden eyes focused on the broker. "And just how do you view my daughter?" She asked curiously.

"A compassionate hero." Liara answered. "A paragon."

"Paragon? Like those of the dwarven people?" The younger asked surprised.

"Dwarven?" Liara asked before shaking her head. "No, I was meaning that she was a prime model of excellence... no that's not right."

"Paragons are the elite of the dwarven culture, the pinnacle of dwarven excellence, and the one exception to the rigid caste structure as they can be drawn from any caste, even the casteless," Leandra explained to her. "Dwarves have no gods, a Paragon is like unto a god in the eyes of dwarves which is attributed to the fact that the dwarves venerate their Ancestors, so a living Paragon is considered as a living Ancestor."

"I think I understand." Liara said. "Do the people of Kirkwall not view your daughter in a similar light?"

"Those she has personally helped perhaps," Leandra answered. "There are some she helped that did not like the final decision she made when given the task."

"But there are more people pleased with her than disappointed in her."

A nod. "But a majority of the city does not know her name," she confessed. "They simply know that the Amell estate has been reclaimed.

She's still a Fereldan refugee to a majority of the city and its people."

"Do you think that will remain as so?"

"I am not sure, because Sabrina seems content to be where we now are," Leandra answered. "Yet, she does not allow our new status stop her from taking up tasks that other nobles and highborns would deem as mercenary or smugglers work.

So it is hard to say."

"She's destined for greatness that one." Liara said. "People like her, and Shepard, are more that simple heroes."

"Makes me wonder if she sees it," Leandra confessed.

"Shepard didn't." Liara said. "Not at first, then she nearly got crushed by Sovereign and killed by the Collectors, then she saw it."

"Saw that her destiny was to stop the Reapers that you now fight against?"

"She's the only one who can." Liara said as she moved to sit on a bench. "We just follow her.

Leandra moved to do the same. "Just like my daughter's companions," She compared. "Each drawn to her for one reason or another.

And each content to stay there."

"They are the same person, just living a different lives in different worlds." Liara said. "The Reapers are here for Shepard, so when will Hawke's Reapers arrive?"

"Not before their time...even if she feels she isn't ready. Even as unprepared as you all were for your own Reapers, you are still ready to face them, odd as it sounds."

"If I can..." Liara looked at Leandra. "What remains of own forces will be there to aid you if Shepard is unable."

Leandra smiled. "That is generous of you," placing a hand on the scientist's arm. "But I feel that offer is better extended to my daughter."

"It will be, in time."


	24. Chapter 24

_**FalseShepard A/N: So it's been two months. It's not that we're lazy fuckers, no, not at all. Combined with weebo job hours, a broken laptop, and that I had rushed to finish Commander Shepard and Ashley Willams for FanExpo 2013, we haven't been putting much thought into current chapters and more into future chapters.**_

_**Act 2 is going to be ridiculous, I swear it. We just need to **_**get** _**there first.**_

_**OffMyLeash A/N 1: But hooray! For a new laptop AND a new job (though I still do early morning hours, I absolutely love night jobs!). Updates will be coming much faster now, like how they originally were. I can't wait until we get into the next arc. It's going to be huge!**_

* * *

Shepard hummed idly to herself as she leaned on the railing that overlooked the Galaxy Map, going through all the theatres of war the Reapers had opened up across the sectors. They still had a couple more hours resupplying at the Citadel, she hoped by tonight they would be on their way to finding Ann Bryson's hide, but she had that gut feeling, it just wasn't going to go that way.

It never did.

"Commander." Traynor looked up from her terminal. "I just got a message from Hackett, the Quarians are willing to talk." she said as Shepard looked down at her Comms Specialist. "They have gathered their fleet just outside the Geth Border."

Shepard sighed, she knew it was going to end up like this. "Punch in the coordinates, let Joker and EDI know, I want us off the Citadel in two hours."

"Aye'eye ma'am." Traynor nodded as Shepard turned away from the map and decided she wanted to spend some time down in the Shuttle Bay.

* * *

Seventeen hours later Shepard found herself leaning against the console in the War Room, waiting for the Quarians to board the Normandy, she could already feel a headache forming, already guessing just what bullshit the Admirals were going to bring to the table, if Tali's trial the year before was anything to go by.

"Commander Shepard." Admiral Raan's voice drew her out of her thoughts as the redhead looked up. "A pleasure to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances." she said, Shepard suddenly found her N7 hoodie far too warm, a fight was bound to break out, she knew it.

"I'd hoped for your support in the fight against the Reapers, instead I find you camping outside the Geth borders." "Shepard said slowly as she crossed her arms. "What the hell is going on?"

"Seventeen days ago, with precision strikes on four geth systems, the quarians initiated the war to take back our homeworld." Admiral Gerrel spoke, far too calmly for Shepard's tastes.

"Are you mad?!" Shepard snapped.

"I agree!" Admiral Koris rose up. "It was a clear violation of our agreement with the Council!"

"A treaty violation is nothing com-" Xen found herself cut off when Shepard pointed at her.

"Fuck the treaty violation, you just started a war with the _Geth_ while the rest of the galaxy is fighting the goddamn Reapers!" Shepard shouted back.

_Love how you've got your priorities together,_ Joker chimed in from overhead. _Hey, the entire galaxy is facing mass extinction from a threat we'd never imagined. What do you say we start a war within a war?_

_What's that? The Reapers plan to destroy all sentient life you say? Well, that certainly doesn't include us because no sentient being in their right mind would do something as stupid as we are. Yippity Yippity fucking do._

"Is your pilot always like this?" Gerrel asked, Shepard couldn't see it but it was easy to tell he was offended in a sense.

"Part of the package, you get used to it." Shepard answered with crossed arms.

"Mister Moreau is right, though his delivery of the message is inappropriate for the situation," the familiar voice of Glyph chimed in, before the drone came floating in, moving about the Quarians and the Commander. "With such a universal threat, the timing of your decision to retake your homeworld is seen as ill advised."

_I believe idiotic would be a better term,_ EDI said from overhead. _The Reapers pose a higher threat, not to mention a more immediate one, than the need to reclaim a lost planet that the Quarians may not even get a chance to see. _

_Shepard, what kind of decision is this?_ she asked the ship captain.

"What does it matter now?" Koris asked, it was clear he was against the entire stint against the geth and only cared about getting the civilians to safety, Shepard figured she could side with that. "To admit we are wrong now would only serve to undercut the justification to this stupid suicidal plan."

"I agree." Shepard nodded. "The geth are only attacking in self defense, you could have just tried to broker a treaty with them instead of attacking them."

"You don't understand." Xen shook her head. "There is much more than just getting our homeworld back, we need their technology.

And this attack-"

_That is what I find odd Admiral Xen,_ EDI interrupted. _You seek to destroy the Geth for their mere existence. Is that not what the Reapers themselves are doing?_

_Are you not, in turn, doing exactly what our enemy is doing to us?_

Xen fell silent as Shepard placed her hands on the console before her. "What you are doing here is no different that what the Templars are doing to the Mages on a different Homeworld." she sneered. "You're trying to destroy a race of sentient beings simply because of what they are." she curled her hands slightly. "I know your people didn't intend to make an AI, but it happened, and trying to destroy them isn't the way to solve this problem."

"Templars? Mages?" one of the admirals echoed, looking around at the other admirals. "What do your people's folklore have to do with anything?"

Glyph floated up to him. "Where the Hawkes hail from, there exist Templars and Mages," the VI informed the Admiral. "They seek to suppress a people simply for their mere existence, and from data gathered from Doctor T'Soni, coupled with religious beliefs have succeeded."

"What matters is that it's no different than what you're trying to do to the geth, what the reapers are doing to us." Shepard hissed.

"If you don't mind." Gerrel started up as he raised his omni-tool and changing the hologram in the center of the room. "We had driven the geth back to the home system when this signal started broadcasting across all geth ships." he had the hologram light up to show. "They are under Reaper Control."

"Alright, now that changes everything." Shepard stepped back slightly.

"The geth are more effective, they have our fleets pinned, if we're going to wi-"

"Win?!" Koris snapped. "You insisted on involving the civilian fleet! Gerrel! We need to retreat or we risk losing the Liveships!"

Lose the Liveships, lose the Quarian Race.

"I think the plan is simple." Shepard said. "We find where the signal is coming, from, disable it, and you _retreat_."

"Good." Koris was happy to hear some sense for once in the last seventeen days while Xen and Gerrel grumbled on their own terms, Raan was the next to speak.

"Our newest Admiral has volunteered to offer her expertises." she said as she slowly turned to the doorway as a familiar form walked through, Shepard felt herself smiling brightly.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, reporting for duty." Tali said as Shepard suddenly found the day ten times brighter.

"Glad you could make it Tali." she said cheerfully, "Admirals, I will ready a strike team once we pinpoint the location of the signal."

"Very well Commander." Raan spoke. "I'll let you know as soon as we can."

* * *

Liara was typing data into her terminal. She was in the middle of inputting data before there came a knock at her door.

_Blueberry? I know you're in there. I can hear you_. Hawke stated from the other side, surprising the scientist. _I have something I want to ask you_. Explaining her reason for being at the Asari's door.

Liara paused what she was doing an shook her head. So much for finishing the report.

"Just a moment." She answered before standing up from her chair and grabbing her jacket and gloves.

It didn't take long for her to put them on. Giving a stretch, she'd been sitting for ten hours-or was it fourteen?-before heading to the door. Opening it quickly shuffling out of her room.

Doors immediately closing behind her.

"It's always so much noise coming from your room," Sabrina remarked. "How do you sleep?" Came the question as Liara led them to an empty table.

"On the worst nights I move to Shepard's room." Liara said. "Usually I just pass out at my desk." Was the honest answer.

"That's not good. You should sleep in a bed," Sabrina told her. "It's better for you."

"Yes, I am aware." Liara sighed. "The nights I sleep in a bed are usually the nights Shepard sleeps at all. Which is already almost once every three days."

"Liara..." The younger woman chastised her.

"She won't listen to me, and my job..." She sighed, trailing off for a moment. "Get's harder and harder by the day."

"I'll sick mother on her then," Sabrina said simply. "And you too," she added, pointing a finger at the alien. "You can't help anyone if you can't see them because your visions all blurry."

Liara sighed a third time. "Am I to assume that this visit isn't to check on my sleeping habits?"

"No, but in the future yes," came the response before Hawke sighed. "I wanted to ask you about Miranda," was the confession. "Bethany and I paid a visit to Bailey and he mentioned how the Illusive Man and Miranda Lawson are fugitives.

I am trying to understand why," Sabrina confessed. "I cannot speak for the Illusive Man, but Miranda helped to stop the Collectors and yet she is being hunted."

"That is because Miss Lawson used to be the right hand woman to the Illusive Man." Liara said quickly. "She left Cerberus when Shepard did but she had no one to turn to."

"Wouldn't stopping Collectors be enough to overlook that?" The younger countered.

"For everyone else on the ship, yes. But Miranda has been recognized as a terrorist, she was with Cerberus for nearly half her life. Their ideals aren't just idly forgotten; also Cerberus themselves are after her as well, they don't take kindly to traitors."

"They sound like the Crows," Sabrina responded. "Once a Crow, you're one for life. The only way to get out is through death," she informed the Asari. "But a very glamorous lifestyle I'm told. However, I'm not sure I understand this term terrorist," came the sheepish confession.

"Terrorist is, a rather... controversial term." Liara said. "They are people who perform acts of violence or various other... activities, that bring fear in society. Usually for religious or personal ideals."

"They don't sound very different than other people," Sabrina pointed out. "After all, isn't everyone doing what they do based on either beliefs or personal ideas?"

"Yes." Liara sighed. "Cerberus is focused on human superiority, they believe that humans should rule all races."

"Oh, so they're conquers like the Qunari!" The human suddenly realized, as she was able to put it into terms she herself would understand.

"No... yes... maybe." Liara frowned. "They haven't conquered anyone, but they have preformed some sick experiments on people.

What is a Qunari exactly?" Came the scientists inquiry.

"They're a race of horned people," Sabrina answered. "Though, that does not make a person Qunari.

Any who understand the Qun are considered Qunari, but people tend to associate those with horns as its people," the rouge explained.

"So it's a doctrine, a single belief like any other religion?"

"It's the belief that in order to be happy, for there to be no chaos, one must find peace with oneself and to do one's part so that all may benefit," Sabrina explained. "For if one does not do their part, all suffer for it. Just the same if one follows and abides by their role, all will benefit."

"Simple, but complex at the same time." Liara said with a nod as she took in that information. "It binds people to a single role and does not give the option to expand and evolve."

"Not necessarily. You're allowed to accept or deny your role," the younger explained as Liara got up and headed toward the fridge. "You can chose to be very good at what you do, or be very poor at it."

"So what if they say you are to be a soldier but you wish to be a scholar instead? Or a woman who desires a male's role?

"Women are the dominant gender in Qunari society," was the response. "Roles are handed out based upon personality as children.

Though I am not sure the details, and I am sure there are things that I am not telling you," Sabrina admitted, rubbing at her neck.

"That is fine." Liara said. "There is much I wish to learn about your people. Maybe after the war, Shepard will allow us to visit."

The younger woman grinned. "That would be nice," she agreed. "Perhaps she could bring the full crew, the people now and the ones we met originally.

Maybe even Miranda as well," she added. "Do you know where she is now?"

"If I did, it is not my information to disclose." Liara answered. "I have been helping her get around, but that is all I can say."

"Secrets, everywhere I look," Hawke grumbled, as she rested her elbow on the table. "But I suppose that's fair. You helping her means she's alive at least." she bounced on the balls of her feet once. "So, would you like to discuss something else?"

"I had a rather interesting report cross my desk today." Liara took the offer right up and changed the subject. "You and Bethany certainly had an adventure."

The light skinned woman looked sheepish in response. "Well, the Citadel is a very big place," was her response.

* * *

"We're approaching the quarian home system," Joker turned in his seat to inform Shepard, who was dressed in her armour. "ETA to Rannoch: five minutes." Before turning back around and sliding screens out of his way while reading stats.

"Shepard have you decided who you're bringing along?" EDI asked as the Commander bit her lower lip.

"Tali is a must, but I haven't decided." she admitted. "I don't think throwing the Hawkes out into space like this is a good idea." she paused. "EDI, you're coming with." A nod from the platform.

The redhead turned her attention back toward Joker. "What have you got from the comm boeys?" she asked him as she folded her arms over her chest.

He shifted a few screens, taking in the information, before leaning to the side and resting his elbow on the armrest. "Pretty much just a big ol' shitstorm, Commander," he answered her as he pulled a few of his beard hairs.

"I have detected several hundred unique ship signatures engaged in active combat," EDI announced from the co-pilot seat.

Causing Joker to shake his head and rub at his eyes. "Yeah, like I said," was his near irritated response which was unlike him. Shepard didn't say much as she looked at him through the mirrored visor of her rebreather helmet.

"Take us in Joker." she ordered as he looked up at her before cracking his knuckles and started to work away at the holographic interface of the ship.

"Stealth drive engaged, the only way they'll detect us now is if we all start signing the Russian national anthem." he tacked on and the end as Shepard chewed on her bottom lip slightly before turning to leave, EDI slipping out of her own seat to follow the Commander.

It didn't take long for the Normandy to navigate through the battlefield, completely undetected by both parties as she came to a slow stop near the dreadnaught's docking bay. Shepard quickly taking the lead through the airlock, not wanting to be here any longer than Admiral Koris wanted his civilian fleet here.

"Alright, once we're on board we'll find whatever if broadcasting the Reaper signal and shut it down, from there we can worry on getting the civilian fleet out of here." Shepard said firmly. "While both of you are excellent at hacking at security, Tali is our Geth expert, so I want you in charge."

Both squadmates turned to face each other. "Your expertise with the Geth will be a welcome addition, Tali," EDI complimented the quarian.

"EDI." Tali greeted as she looked at the AI face to face. Something she couldn't do per say while helping Shepard stop the Collectors. "So...a body?"

Making the AI look down at her platform. "It has proven useful,"moving her arms in a display before turning her attention back to the geth expert. "I hope it doesn't cause you concern." Well aware of the quarians-all quarians-views on AIs, and possibly even VIs, though further observation was needed to confirm EDI's belief.

"Not unless you go crazy and decide to overthrow the humans," the alien responded, light flashing on her helmet as she spoke.

EDI and Shepard sharing a glance.

"If I decide to overthrow the humans," she began, focusing back on Tali. "You will be the first to know." A smirk playing at her lips before she paused, looking at the Commander. "Shepard, there is a problem. All tubes but one are physically secured."

_I see the free one,_ Joker commented before sighing. _Pretty torn up though._

"That's too risky for the whole team." Shepard said, especially since none of them had thruster packs if they were accidently spaced. She shivered at the thought, she'd hate to be spaced again. "I'll go on ahead, and secure the dock, you two can follow after me."

_Roger that Commander, we'll just stay here, you know, quietly. _Joker responded, almost sounded half hearted, or bored.

"I shouldn't be long, just pray that space doesn't want to take me back." Shepard muttered, almost annoyed as she started forward, engaging her mag-boots as she stepped onto the damaged docking tube and working her way forward.

The trek itself was slow, having no choice but to walk and more than once in circles to get across to little bridges that would take her further along the tube. When something caught the corner of her eye she stopped to look, red-green eyes going wide at the sight of the Geth Dreadnought.

"No wonder the Quarians are having trouble, that thing is massive!" she found herself exclaiming over the commlink as she looked over at her shoulder, seeing Tali and EDI still waiting there on her.

"_It's 30% larger than an Alliance Dreadnought." _EDI chimed in as Shepard continued to move forward, eventually coming to a stop when she saw Rannoch for the first time, she found herself smiling.

"Tali, you're going to enjoy the view."

"_Better than a vid?"_

"Much." Shepard chuckled as she continued walking at odd angles to get around the gaping holes in the tube.

"_How are you doing Shepard?"_ Tali inquired through the commlink.

The Commander sighed a bit as she continued her trek. "The lack of gravity is a little disorienting," came the confession, as she moved a piece of floating debris out the way.

"_The dreadnought has artificial gravity. You should be okay once you're onboard."_

"Until then I'll just take my time with mag-boots."

"_Hey, take your time, Commander," _Joker chimed in, being as sarcastic as ever. "_We're fine until they, you know, look out a window."_

"Geth don't use windows remember?" she reminded her pilot. "Structural weakness."

"_Like the geth are just sitting there saying, 'Those organics would never try the no windows thing twice!'"_ Joker countered, making the biotic shake her head as she neared the exit.

Just moments before Shepard got to the end, the structure started to break apart, finding herself forced to jump the last bit and scrambling to catch the edge of the airlock. Quickly setting herself back down she swore softly when she realized there was no way the rest of the team could follow her that way.

"So, the rest of the team will _not_ be using the docking tube." Shepard sighed dryly, she could almost hear Joker's chuckle.

"_So I guess you'd rather not solo the dreadnought." _he commented, Shepard smirked under her helmet.

"Not if I can help it," Shepard said dryly as she brought her hand up to the side of her helmet. "Ask Tali to get on the dreadnought schematics," she ordered as she turned and took a few steps toward the door. "If she can point me at another docking tube, I'll override the controls and let the boarding party on."

* * *

Four days. It had been four days since he was supposed to have heard from them by now; swallowing thickly as he thought the worse. Simply because he couldn't think of any other believable reason given the state the entire galaxy seemed to be in, with the Reaper threat and their own personal, petty, issues.

"Joker!" came the cry startling him, making the bearded man jump in his seat before looking to his right to find a pair of golden eyes looking at him with concern. "I...I've been calling your name for the past few minutes.

I...you worried me," Bethany told him somewhat shyly, as she looked at him. "Is...is everything alright?"

_Admiral Gerrel tried a frontal assault. We lost six frigates. That tiny hole was the only damage we did. _

_I wouldn't call it tiny._

He 'tsk'd'. "Everything is the farthest from alright right now," tossing up his arm and gesturing to the battle raging outside of the Normandy that they had a decent view of. Once he'd dropped the boarding team off, he'd moved the ship out of the thick of things while keeping her in stealth mode still.

They were far from safe, but they weren't where they could get hit by stray shots and falling ships either.

"The Reapers are tearing through us like wet tissue paper. Every single race in existence are acting like a bunch of dicks, offering only empty words to what happened to Earth," a rare frown marring his face as he spoke. "Or they're pulling stupid moves out of their asses like the quarians and are choosing now of all times to want to retake their homeworld when the Reapers are killing people by the billions everyday!

It seems like the only thing anyone wants to get done are discussions over what to do instead of outright acting!" Hitting his fist on the armrest, careful not to injure himself although his hand did hurt.

The mage nodded. "You know..." she began slowly, unused to seeking the playful pilot like this. "Something similar happened back in Fereldan, when the Blight was just getting underway," she brought up hoping to assist him.

"What? They used your people as fodder? Sacrifice your people to buy time for others?" he growled slightly. "The Commander believes in that too."

"Err...well..." making the younger woman hesitate as she struggled to come up with a proper response. "My sister and the Templar," as she had taken to referring to Carver. "Were in the battle of Ostagar," she informed him. "So my information of the events occurring there are second hand. But, I think it will serve as a good comparison for what is happening with your own blight."

_Thank you, Shepard. I will try to find a more convenient docking point next time._

_Next time?_

_..._

_There, it's open. We're good to go._

"Oh? Yes, those Darkspawn things you thought Garrus was?" Joker pointed out. "They some kind of sentient race bent on destroying the galaxy?"

"Well, they aren't smart, but they do seek to destroy and corrupt all that they touch," Bethany responded, as she shifted in her seat. "Darkspawn possess no intelligence beyond simple animal cunning, and they have no language besides roars and grunts.

In fact, the only hint at a native culture is their desire to convert, or build, status in the image of the Old Gods."

"Old Gods? Or another race like these Leviathan things that the Commander is trying to chase in her spare time?" Joker added dryly.

"Actually, the Old Gods were a pantheon of deities widely revered by most citizens, with priesthoods and temples dedicated to their veneration," the golden eyed woman began. "They were, or are, dragons and legends say it was they would taught mages how to use magic.

Their relation to the darkspawn goes hand in hand," making hand gestures to illustrate her point. "It was said that the magisters of the Tevinter Imperium, were greedy and power hungry and wanted power of the Maker himself, and that it was the Old Gods-Dumat specifically-who taught them blood magic and led them into the Golden City. A place created by the Maker for those who have died.

However, it is, or was, a city for the dead, not the living. So, with every step they took, they blacked the city, and as punishment, they were cast out and sent back to world as, diseased twisted creatures-the first darkspawn."

Joker rubbed his hand over his face in response, trying to grasp what he was just told. "No offence, but that just sounds like an old tale people made up to give their gods purpose. Zeus did this! Hades did that! Poseidon was the best! And Apollo just slept with everyone." he tried to make light of the situation. "But I guess...given the way you…used…to live your life, it still makes sense, in it's own odd way."

_Gah, vents. Always the vents._

_You did fine at the Collector base_, Shepard's voice filtered in over the screen.

_I got set on fire!_

She nodded. "While the origin for the darkspawn is still debated to this day, it cannot be denied that the Old Gods exist," she pointed out. "For it's said, as punishment for the Old Gods, the Maker cast them deep down into the earth, forcing them into a deep slumber.

But, the darkspawn hear their call," she continued. "They hear the...song...and it makes them search the dragons out. However, the moment they touch them, the dragons become tainted and corrupted and turns them into an Archdemon.

Without an Archdemon, the darkspawn are few, scattered, and disorganized, and plague the Deep Roads near exclusively-barring the occasional raid by small parties, but with one..." she paused to take a deep breath as she remembered how the horde marched on her home. "They become unified by it's will, and surge to the surface and spread across the lands warping and destroying all in their path.

Those who are unfortunate enough to not be killed are dragged underground to be eaten or worse..." trailing as the stories from refugees who'd come throughout the first year of her time in Kirkwall filled her mind. Shivering at the tales she'd heard. "Water sources are defiled and crops and animals become plagued. The very sky itself fills with black clouds that block out the sun, making it easier for darkspawn to surface as they absolutely abhorred the light."

"Would be easy if you had space travel." Joker sighed as he leaned back on his chair. "Just leave the planet, colonize elsewhere, have them die out, then just come back a few generations later."

"Darkspawn do not simply 'die out'," Bethany told him dryly. "Many have been slaughtered over the ages, and tens of thousands more remain. They're as extensive as the Deep Roads themselves."

"So, you can't really abandon the homeworld then, like the Quarians did." Joker hummed slightly. "Is there no way to defeat them for good? Or are you stuck with them like how we are stuck with the Reapers?"

The younger let out sigh, shaking her head slightly. "I am not sure," she admitted honestly. "They've been fought for years and it doesn't look like they're going anywhere soon.

But, as for Ostagar..." she brought back up, shifting back to her original topic.

"Yes, Ostagar, what happened there?" Joker asked as he leaned in his seat, tapping at the console, watching Shepard's helmet cam.

"It was where the King's Army was making it's stand against the horde," she began. "King Cailan's intent was to stop the blight before it truly got underway and moved further inland.

And Ostagar was where the bulk of the horde gathered, since the darkspawn had broken the surface deep within the wilds."

"I'm guessing everything went south." Joker sighed. "Your entire army defeated and the king killed?"

She nodded. "He was betrayed by his most trusted general, and father of his wife, Teyrn Loghain," she told him. "From what sister told me, Loghain was a seasoned warrior, while King Cailan was the excitable youth.

Where Loghain would exercise caution, and was strongly against relying on Grey Wardens, King Cailan met each battle head on and without considering the possibility of losing, and held the Wardens in high regard," the mage continued. "Unsurprising, considering Loghain had been friends with King Cailan's father, and fought along side Maric to drive the Orlesians from Fereldan."

Bethany then paused for a few moments, allowing her words to sink in with Joker, while she took the time herself to gather her thoughts. "Loghain's past left him...hardened..." she said slowly, as she struggled to find a word that best represented the man. "None could doubt his actions done for his country but...there were those who started to doubt if his...methods...were for his benefit." Focusing her golden eyes on him, hoping she was conveying her knowledge correctly.

She knew what she wanted to say, but not sure if it was coming across how it was in her mind-something that frustrated her in all honesty.

"I got this gut feeling that this… Loghain guy betrayed your king." Joker said. "Much like how Udina betrayed the council."

"He did," Bethany confirmed. "Sister said that King Cailan wanted two Grey Wardens to light the beacon at the Tower of Ishal, while the rest of the Wardens fought alongside him on the front lines.

They lit the beacon, however...when it was lit, Loghain sounded the retreat and pulled his men from the field. Leaving all those in the valley to die where they were overrun by the horde," the mage told him. "Sister and the Templar...they...they were on the front lines."

"But they got away and everything went to shit." Joker sighed. "You ended up in Kirkwall and two years later, we crash the ship just outside your city." he laughed rather painfully. "But your Blight, it probably wasn't ended, just delayed."

She shook her head. "The Blight was ended within a year-which is the shortest a blight has ever been ended-and by our cousin no less," she responded. "But my point is, Loghain's action caused all types of problems for Fereldan. It created civil unrest and put people on the brink of civil war, even though a Blight was going on and could have very well consumed the land.

Yet, more people were concerned with petty, personal issues, instead of focusing on the major threat which was the darkspawn and Archdemon," she pointed out. "What my cousin faced in creating another army to replace the one lost at Ostagar, and getting people to ban together for a common goal, is no different that what Shepard is having to go through now.

Time she spends doing things like this-having to prove her worth-is time that could have been spent being more productive, but, she has no choice to but do them if she wishes to build a strong army to face the Reapers."

"That's politics for you." Joker leaned back. "The higher you go up in the ranks, the more red tape you're saddled with, before you know it, you're more politician than soldier. In my opinion, I think Shepard hates it."

She gave a nod of agreement as her eyes focused on the screen pulled up in front of Joker. Images coming in from Shepard's helmet as she and her companions moved within the dreadnought. "Is that what was bothering you?" she finally asked, feeling now would be a good time. "These politics?" Giving him a curious look.

He sighed heavily. "Yes...no...maybe?" Holding his head down. "My family..." he brought up after a few moments. "I haven't heard from them in a few days," came the confession. "I know with the shitstorm the galaxy's in, communications could just be down, but it's not something I can believe with everything we're seeing and how quickly the Reapers are hitting practically every corner of the galaxy."

"I am sure they are fine." Bethany said softly, standing and moving over to him to place a hand on his shoulder, offering him up a comforting smile. "Have you tried asking Liara? She always seems to know all these things before anyone else does."

"I...I hadn't thought about that," he admitted honestly. "I'll...I'll ask her later. I really hope my family's okay." As the two fell into silence, the only sounds coming from Shepard's helmet-cam, before the communications terminal flared to life.

_Damn you Gerrel!_ Raan's voice exploded in the helm of the ship, cutting Joker off and making the youngest Hawke jump slightly.

_What are you-?!_ Tali's voice shouted. _We are _still _on the ship!_

_Focus on the Geth! _Shepard responded back, gunfire and tech was apparent in the background. _Worry about the admirals later!_

"That... doesn't sound good." Bethany muttered.

Joker quickly turning around in his seat. "What's going on down there guys?" He asked as he starting typing furiously on screens and looking over reports.

_Joker!_ Shepard almost sounded thrilled to hear him. _The Quarians are firing at the ship! We are still on the ship and pinned down by Geth Primes!_

_Patrol Fleet!_ Raan's voice hailed over the comms suddenly, sounding reluctant at best. EDI must have linked the lines. _Flanking support on the Heavy Fleet. Give them a firing lane!_

_All ships, open fire!_ Gerrel shouted.

_Belay that!_ Shepard shouted over the comms. _We are still on the ship!_

"Seems like the Quarians were too eager to wait until the signal was given huh Commander?" Joker said, as he changed screens. "I see a group of ships coming up from behind. Doubt they're coming to pick you guys up."

An aggravated sound escaped from Shepard's throat.

_Legion! Are there any escape pods!?_

_Geth transmit intelligences via remote signal. We do not use escape pods._ Legion's tell-tale voice spoke only to be followed by a range of curses from Shepard.

"Who's Legion?" Bethany asked.

"He's a Geth friend of ours," Joker answered. "I think you met him when we first crashed. Though I can't remember details right now," he finished. "Should I bring the ship around Commander? It would be nice to do something that's all I'm saying."

_No!_ Shepard shouted suddenly as an explosion rocked the the background. _The area is too hot! I do not need another SR-1!_

_Shepard-Commander._ Legion spoke again. _There are Geth Fighters docked in the port-side fighter bay. We can pilot a fighter to safety._

_We're running out of time!_ Tali shouted as the explosions started to string closer and closer together.

_The Fleet is not responding to my hails._ EDI spoke up.

Making Tali let out a growl. _Those hot headed bosh'tets! _The alien cried in agitation. _I am going to give them an earful when we get out of here!_

"This is bad, isn't it?" Bethany asked when she heard footsteps behind her, seeing Ashley and Garrus standing the the cockpit with them.

"What the hell is going on?" Ashley asked when a violent explosion ripped through the comms.

_We have lost environmental controls and artificial gravity._ EDI stated over the comms as Garrus took a seat at one of the empty consoles.

"Shepard's vitals just spiked." He said, worried. "And not in a good way."

_The hull's coming off!_ The Commander screeched over the comm system.

* * *

Shepard stumbled as the entire ground below them started to shake and come apart, she could feel her heart racing in her chest as she scrambled to get to the docking bay, part of the walkway fell just as Tali and EDI got across, forcing her to jump in Zero-G.

"Keep going!" she shouted at the three of them ahead of her before she started a running jump, the following explosion blasting her away from her destination.

Her hands just brushing by the debris as she floated past it, casting a glance over her shoulder and seeing open space. In an instant, the memory came rushing back to her. How the beam cut through the original Normandy, just as she had pressed the eject button, getting Joker out of there.

How she was knocked off balance, floating, as the impending explosion sent her flying from the ship. Recalling how debris floated past her as she watched her ship go down. Then the hissing, the sound of her oxygen pack being ruptured, quickly leaking precious air into the unforgiving vacuum of space.

Trying desperately to breath as air escaped her, clutching at her throat as she felt herself being pulled off in a direction. But she didn't care about that, all she care about was being able to breath. Clawing at her throat before frantically reaching behind her back trying to stop the leak, but to no avail.

The more she struggled, the faster she lost air. The more air she lost, the more her lungs burned. The more her lungs burned, the more her heart pounded. And, the more her heart pounded the more desperate she became she as she began to gasp for the air that space did not provide.

It took only a few seconds before she was fading from consciousness, but to her, it felt like eternity as she felt herself dying, absolutely helpless to stop it. Now, nearly three years later, she found the same scenario playing itself out here. The Quarians serving as the Collectors, the Dreadnought serving as the Normandy...everything coming apart around them...and here about to slip into spaces cold embrace again.

It was all too much to handle, as she struggled to stay inside the ship...get to the railing...to live. But the hull breach drew closer and she seemed to only get further away from her team. Fear pierced her heart, as it pounded in her throat, while her body overheated.

Space.

Collectors.

SR-1.

Space.

Dreadnought.

Reapers.

Death.

Space.

_Collectors._

_SR-1._

_Space!_

_Dreadnought._

_Reapers._

_Death._

_Space!_

_Death!_

_Space!_

_Death!_

_Space...Space...Space...SPACE!_

It was all too much as those words went through her mind before even internally she was screaming. Her body and mind could take no more, it refused to be conscious for her repeat performance of her first death. Blood rushed from her brain as her eyes rolled back into her head before her body stilled.

Vision going black just as Legion came into view.

* * *

_**OffMyLeash A/N #2: So, seeing how well received this crossover is/has being/been received, I had the idea to do a high school crossover within the same verse. But, I want to know how many of you would like that? Tell me about it when you leave a review for this story.**_

_**And on a random note, I just love love LOVE the Sly Cooper series :3**_

_**FalseShepard A/N #2: Shepard's muse has made it onto tumblr for any of you RPers out there. However her entire profile is, in turn, spoiler-rific, to this story... if interested, fire me a message.**_


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